Future History
by AlyLuvsYou
Summary: Set 20 yrs after the Flock meet Dylan. They once ruled the skies; now its their kids turn. Read along as the Next Generation show their parents how to save the world-for good this time. Will it cost them a life? Rated T-M for a reason. Partly a song fic.
1. Prolouge

***Let's get you caught up on the last 20 years!***

**Future History**

**Original Flock:**

Max- 35

Fang- 35

Iggy- 35

Nudge-32

Gazzy- 29

Angel- 26

**Pairings:**

Max + Fang = Malec (17), Felicity (15), Faye (7)

Iggy + Ella = Vanessa (16), Natalia (12)

Nudge + Jack = Tyler (10)

Gazzy + Alexis = ?

**Story Line:**

This is about 20 years after the Flock meets up with Dylan. Dylan was never truly accepted into the Flock – they taught him how to use his wings but never trusted him. (As the way it should have been from the beginning!) Max and Fang never split up but Angel does stay with the mad scientist dude. She has tried to communicate with them from time to time but they haven't seen her since that day. Total took her side and went with her.)

After they escaped from the troubles of the world, Max and the Flock all settled down in a home on a remote island that only Max's mom, Dr. Martinez, and a few of her trusted and loyal associates know of their location. Max was heartbroken due to Angel's betrayal and started to reject Fang's comfort and shut down. (Max was 16 at this point.) She only came back to life when Fang leaves to take on an Itex facility he was hunting down. When the Flock goes to save him he's barely alive. They take down Itex, what they think is for good, and escape back to her Mom's house. Fang was in critical condition and Dr. M almost lost him several times during surgery. Seeing as through that was the second time Max almost lost Fang, she realized that she didn't have time to dwell on the past when there was no way to change it.

Max and Fang married soon after that incident (they were both 18) and had their first son, Malec, who is 17 at the start of the story. Iggy and Ella were giving Dr. M and Max's blessings to marry (when Iggy was 19). They had their first daughter about a year later; her name's Vanessa. (They wanted to incorporate Dr. M's first name initial.) Nudge met a young man in school, Jack, and married him when she was 20. They have a son named Tyler. Gazzy and his long-time, loyal girlfriend, Alexis, have just married and are going to have their first son.

As for that island, it has about a six mile radius and is located somewhere in one of the four oceans. The flock still lives there but in their separate homes. They all do go to the main land almost every day for their kids schooling. (Max is starting to have second guesses about living there and is considering moving to the main land. Hurray, hurray.)The world knows all about Maximum Ride and how her and five others saved the world from Itex. (In fact, their story is now told in history books.) They live a pretty normal life and trying to deal with the fact that they really did create a new world.

Each of their kids has wings and special powers, which grow more powerful as they do. Malec and Felicity and the other kids have the life that Max and Fang never did, but we all know nothing stayed peaceful in the world of Maximum Ride.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Maximum Ride or any of the original characters (which is a damn shame). I do, however, own any other characters and the plot.

**Rating:** T-M (due to my paranoia and the fact that way later chapters will have profanities of the mouth and gore and torture; nothing too sexual or anything like that)

**Genre:** Romance, Mystery, Adventure, Horror/Hurt/Comfort, Family/Friendship (Only having the option to pick just two genres never does the story justice.)

**FIRST CHAPTER IS NEXT! READ ON! **


	2. C1: Sing

**Future History** (Don't ask me why I picked this title – it just came to mind.)

Chapter One: Sing

**Felicity POV**

"Hey Felicity!" I heard someone call from behind me. I whirled around and to see my best friend, Andy (or Andréa) dancing around the crowd of kids that seemed to move in packs around the school. After working her way through, she finally caught up with me and my older brother, Malec.

"Hey, Andy," I greeted as she came to a halt. "What's up?"

"Can I ask you for a favor?" She looked worried, so I knew it wasn't the usual 'homework' favors.

I nodded and stepped aside so a group of kids could get past us. "Sure. What is it?" It was about this point that I noticed Malec had left. That was something he always did; if the conversation – or the topic of the conversation – had nothing to do with him, he wasn't sticking around. So, when Mom's taking about some politician that made it on her hit list, he walks away silently as she's talking – most times she's talking for fifteen minutes before she realizes he's not there. Mom hates it when he does that because she says he's too much like his father.

"Felicity, I need you to sing for me at the gig this weekend."

…

I was honestly at a loss of words. "Um…what?" See? What'd I tell you?

She rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, Felicity! You know what I'm asking. I need you to sing in my place Saturday night."

I snapped out of my haze. "What? No way! I can't sing! I have nowhere near as much talent as you."

She gave me a look that read 'Seriously?' "Don't try pulling that crap; you're in my choir class, for damn-sake! I've heard you sing plenty of solos."

I sighed. She had me there… "But I still can't do it."

Her face fell, and I almost regret my own rejection. "Why not? Weren't you going to watch us perform anyway?"

"Well, of course. I'm the band manager; without me, you'd fall apart. It's just…well, I don't want to ruin the band's reputation."

"What reputation?" she asked, baffled by my response. "We've done maybe three gigs in the last two months. There isn't much of a reputation for the band, let alone me, at this moment." She smirked and slapped me encouragingly on the shoulder. "So, no pressure!" she teased.

I rolled my eyes. "Well, why can't you go anyway?"

"My English teacher signed me up for a trip to compete against other students in a Speech thing down south. And she didn't even ask! I guess it's a big part of my grade."

My mouth was in the shape of an 'O'. "Sorry you gotta miss it, then."

Her face brightened almost instantly. "So, you'll do it?"

I sighed. "Yeah, I'll do it. But! Don't say I didn't warn you about the band's reputation being ruined," I said as she hugged me tight.

She laughed and let me go. "Consider me warned."

The rest of the day went uneventfully. I went through my classes like normal. Vanessa and I did our usual protend-we-are-paying-attention-in-clas-and-talk-in-tones-only-we-could-hear routine. At the end of each day, I drop Vanessa off at the Student Center for her 'tutering' classes (required for 'handicapped' students). I usually take my time getting to the band room to meet the others, but decided to hurry over there.

I turned the corner of a four-way-intersection, heading down the Arts Wing. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Donte leaning against a group of lockers.

With Julianna, a slut from my home room, all over him! I suddenly felt a pang of… Wait. Was that…_jealousy_? Oh, fu-dge. (Is it weird my Aunt Nudge gave me the 'when you like a boy' talk, rather than my own mother? Mom's not so good with dating, as she's told us several times. It amazing her and my father worked out.)

Anyway, I watched Julianna slide a perfectly manicured nail over Donte's chest – not that I always stare at it and wonder what it'd feel like to…never mind. She pretty much had him cornered. He caught me in his line of vision and mouthed 'Help Me'. I smirked and continued down the hall, deciding that's what he got for being so cute.

…I really need to stop talking, don't I?

How about a little more about the band? There's Andy; lead female singer and bass player. My brother; he plays guitar and back up male singer. He also has a hidden talent: finding the right moves for pop songs. (In other words, the guy can dance!) Chevelle; she's on keyboard and our technically producer. She also plays the violin like a pro. Emmett; he plays drums. He's also our crane lift for carrying all our heavier instruments. And there's Donte; he plays back-up bass and is the lead male singer. I was never actually a part of the band, but I was always their audience and told them how it sounded and how it could improve. In a way, I was an honorary member. (Did I mention I was their manager? Just checking.) I guess the reason Andy asked me to back her up is because I knew their songs and how they operate.

I pushed open the band room doors and to see Andy and Malec were already there. He was leaning against the far wall, the both of them talking quietly. I got one foot through the door before I stopped death in my tracks. What I wasn't expecting was to see Andy lean up on her toes and…_kiss my brother_! I swear I felt some of my breakfast rise in the back of my throat. It was just…_weird_, I guess. My brother and I have spent every day of our lives together, and suddenly seeing this was unexpected, to say the least. And Andy was my best friend; I guess what bothered me the most is the fact that they thought to keep it from me. I almost felt betrayed, but I pushed that thought aside. There's no need to think that way, especially with what's coming up soon.

Then, I heard the rest of the band burst through the door. The sudden noise made Andy and Malec practically fly apart, when their eyes fell on me, they both turned bright red. (Well, Andy did; Malec did a good job of hiding his emotions.) They both knew I witnessed what happened, but I couldn't tell if they were ashamed of it or not. I hope they don't feel that way. It had to happen sometime, right?

"Dammit Chevelle! If you push me one more time I swear to God I'll sneak up on you in class every chance I get!" That was Emmett. He's in Malec and Andy's grade, making everyone in the band Seniors, except me. (I'm a Junior.)

Before Chevelle could say what she was going to say, Emmett tapped her arm and motioned toward the couple across the room, smirking. Andy quickly made it look like she was doing something.

Emmett's booming laugh echoed through the large room as we all stepped further into the room, my feet moving on their own accord. "Well, well, well! What do we have here? Definitely something interesting judging by look on your faces!" Malec rolled his eyes at one of his best friends since him and Donte met. "What did I miss?" Emmett asked eagerly, taking a seat at his drums.

Chevelle threw something at Emmett, hitting him in the chest and head. It was his drum sticks. "Quit goofing around, you oaf! Can't you feel the intense atmosphere?" Chevelle winked at me, which made me feel better knowing she guessed how I felt about it.

Emmett retrieved his sticks, rubbing the points of impact. "What? I was just wondering."

Chevelle, as well as the rest of us, ignored him. "So, did you say yes?" she asked me, turning on the AMPs then taking her place at her keyboard. I was honestly happy for the change of topic, and I'm sure Andy and Malec felt the same.

I set my bag down on the wall. "Well, yeah, but-"

"'But' nothing, girl! We need you to cover for Andy!" Emmett cheered, beating on the bass drum. He really was an oaf sometimes.

"She's got some kind of trip with the school this weekend," Malec explained, pulling his guitar strap over his head on his shoulder.

Before I could say anything, Andy said, "She knows. I already told her." She glanced at me, a touch of sadness and guilt in her eyes.

I smiled lightly and said, "Yeah…" I figured it was best to try and forget what I'd seen between her and my brother so I could focus on my goal: keeping up with her and the rest of the band. I had some big shoes to fill.

Then the doors burst open again. "Sorry I'm late, guys." Donte said, jogging across the room. "Got caught up the Mr. Carlson; he wanted to talk to me about this weekend."

I rolled my eyes, knowing that's not exactly what happened, though I didn't say anything against him. I felt my cheeks light up a little when he smiled at me and quickly looked away, hiding my face behind my long black hair. I didn't think about the fact that I'd be singing with Donte! Why can't my brain think head of time? He quickly made his way to his instruments and noticed I was standing at the mic. He smiled at me, and I worked hard to push a blush down. "I see you agreed to our arrangements, Princess."

I groaned and rolled my eyes at his nick-name for me, knowing I hate it. "When did you guys get together to talk about his, anyway? I mean, I'm here with you guys every day!"

Malec smirked (another trait from our father.) "Every day before you get here."

I rolled my eyes at my brother. "Whatever."

"So, what song are we starting with?" Chevelle asked.

"I wanna hear _Maybe_ by Sick Puppies." Andy suggested, sitting in a chair in front of us like what I normally do. I knew what song she was referring to. It wasn't too difficult, and they had worked a female part into the song, so I couldn't just hid behind Donte. Damn that girl is clever.

Everyone agreed calmly – I was still freaking out on the inside! Malec switched with Donte, putting Donte on guitar and Malec on bass. That also means I would be singing lead with Donte. Shoot me now. Chevelle wasn't going to be needed for this song, so she pulled up a chair next to Andy, the both of them smirking at me.

Once everyone was set, Malec counted off. "One, two, three, four…" On his mark, Emmett and Donte took off with the song in drums and guitar. Malec came in soon after with his bass. I took a deep breath, listening for when I come in. As he started to sing, he glanced at me, and it was hard to read what he was feeling.

[**Bold = Donte** _Italics = Felicity_ _**Bold/Italics = Both**_]

**Maybe I'm a dreamer**

**Maybe I'm misunderstood**

**Maybe you're not seeing **

**The side of me you should**

**Maybe I'm crazy **_(Maybe I'm crazy)_

**Maybe I'm the only one **_(Maybe I'm the only one)_

**Maybe I'm just out of touch**

**Maybe I've just had enough**

As my part to sing with Donte drew closer and closer, I couldn't help but feel excited. I had never actually sung with them before, and it was…invigorating. I could feel the adrenaline pumping as I sang along with Donte.

_**And maybe it's time to change**_

_**Leave it all behind**_

_**I've never been one to walk alone**_

_**I've always been scared to try**_

_**Why does it feel so wrong**_

_**To reach for something more?**_

**Don't wanna live a better life**

_**What am I waiting for?**_

'_**Cause nothing stays the same**_

_**Maybe it's time to change**_

Donte locked eyes with me again and smiled. I couldn't help but smile back. He just had one of those dazzling smiles.

**Maybe it's hopeless **_(Maybe it's hopeless)_

**Maybe I should just give up **_(Maybe I should just give up)_

**What if I can't trust myself?**

**What if I just need some help?**

_**And Maybe it's time to change**_

_**Leave it all behind**_

_**I've never been one to walk alone**_

_**I've always been scared to try**_

_**So why does it feel so wrong**_

_**To reach for something more?**_

**Don't want to live a better life**

_**What am I waiting for?**_

'_**Cause nothing stays the same **_

_**Maybe it's time to change**_

Donte stepped away from the mic and played his guitar solo. It was actually a sight to see. He made it all look so easy, and graceful. None of them ever missed a beat, nor did they ever miss a concert… Is it too ironic that we're singing this song? Or is it just me?

I noticed Malec and Donte exchanged a look but dismissed it. Sometimes it was better not to read too into those kinds of things.

Donte approached the mic and I turned and did the same, and let the words flow out. But as I sang, Donte didn't; he backed off and left me at the mic alone. Oh God.

_And maybe it's time to change_

_And leave it all behind_

_I've never been one to walk alone _

_I've always been scared to try_

_**And maybe it's time to change**_

_**And leave it all behind**_

_**I've never been one to walk alone **_

_**I've always been scared to try**_

_**So why does it feel so wrong**_

_**To reach for something more?**_

**Don't want to live a better life**

_**What am I waiting for?**_

'_**Cause nothing stays the same **_

**Maybe it's time to change**

'_**Cause nothing stays the same **_

**Maybe it's time to change**

At the end of the song, I glared at Donte playfully for leaving me at the mic for an unexpected solo. He only shrugged and smirked evilly at me. All in all, a very successful rehearsal.

**:::**

**Yeah, I know. Turning the next generation Flock into a band. I am soooo smart. (Not.)**

**Anyway, that was chapter one. The band doesn't have a name at this point because…well, I can't think of one. Let me know if anyone has any ideas? This chapter was mainly to introduce the band, because they will show great significance later on in the story – not just as a band, but as a Flock in general. **

**Thanks For Reading! R&R**

**-Aly**

**P.S.**

**Can anyone guess who Malec and Felicity's parents are? (Not that it's already obvious.)**


	3. C2: Its All Fun And Games

**Future History**

Chapter Two: It's All Gigs And Giggles…

**Felicity POV ** ~~Saturday night~~

"I can't do this…" I said, my nerves completely shot from the adrenaline rush since our rehearsal earlier today. I was so nervous, I thought the floor was vibrating, but it was really just my shaking.

Andy advised me to dress "fantasy" for the night. I don't think I own "fantasy"; I normally dress in what I think looks good. And trust me, some of the crap Fashion designers come up with now-a-days is just…scary. So, I threw on a pair of faded grey skinny jeans, a loose navy blue top that had one sleeve, a lightly sequenced black belt around my waist, and a pair of high-top converse.

"You'll do fine, Felicity. Relax." Chevelle clamped a black-painted, chain necklace that said 'Heart Breaker' inn fantasy writing around my neck, and then finished up my make-up. "You did great with all the songs earlier today, you'll do fine now."

"Well, what if fine isn't good enough?" I asked, frantic about the idea of getting one 'Boo' from the audience. "What if I embarrass myself and can't show my face in public again.

She just laughed at my perplexed and terrified expression. "Will you shut up already? If they 'Boo' you, we'll have your back." As comforting as that was, I'm not sure I quite liked the sound of it.

"We're on in five," Emmett announces as he enters the girls bathroom with Donte and my brother in toe.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Chevelle yelled, her thunderous anger vibrating the walls. "This is the girl's bathroom! Get out!"

Malec put his hands up in defense. "Down girl. Was just coming to see what was taking so long."

All three guys leaned against the sinks and crossed their arms. They looked so out of place against the pale pink walls.

Chevelle sighed. "Men are hopeless." She glanced at Malec. "And if you must know, your sister is having those 'before performance jitters' again."

"Well, shake it off, girl! We got some songs to do!" Emmett said, pulling himself away from the faucet and started back outside. He was clearly uncomfortable. My brother followed suite. When Donte lagged behind, Chevelle took this chance to make her exit, winking at me on her way out.

Traitor.

At first it was kind of an awkward silence, and I swear I seen a tint on his cheeks. "So, um…good luck," he said lamely.

I couldn't help but giggle a little. "You, too." God, I felt like I was a guest star in _Friends_, when they attempt those horrid good-byes and wind up… Never mind. I'm not even when jinx myself there. "Are you nervous?" I finally asked.

He shrugged. "I more or less want out of this bathroom."

We both laughed that time. I was so thankful things weren't weird between us.

"Okay, let's get out there," I said and started walking by him when he grabbed my arm, stopping me.

"Wait, I wanted to tell you something." My heart stopped. What? I mean, I've had a crush on his guy since he and my brother met. And he's sent off signals that I just didn't understand sometimes, so I really never knew if he felt the same. I wonder what he's trying to say…

"When you're up on stage, try not to think of it as singing in front of people. Think of them as students, and you are telling them a story through your beautiful voice." He pushed a stand of hair out of my face gently, smiling brightly. "Just be yourself. That always makes me less nervous." There was a pause, and then he leaned in. I was slow and yet fast at the same time. My brain went into hyper-over-drive and my first impulse was to…

Take a side step away and walk out without a word. _What the heck, body? What is wrong with you?_

Clearly, that was not done on my own accord.So much for things not being weird between us…

As I walked onto the platform, people started clapping a cheering. My feet faltered and I tripped over myself into the mic stand. There were chuckles from the crowd when I said, "I meant to do that" into the microphone. That actually made me feel a little better. _"Just be yourself."_ That's when Donte chose to make his presence known and slugged his way up the stage, taking his place next to Malec. Donte wasn't smiling and didn't look happy and Malec gave him a quizzed look, which Donte shrugged off.

Then, Chevelle came up to my mic and spoke into it. "Hey, everybody! How are you all tonight?" she asked into the mic, her beautiful voice echoing as the semi-large crowd cheered. "Well, there's been a small change due to the fact that our lead singer, Andy, has some business to attend to tonight." Chevelle's eyes fell on me and she smiled widely. "So, to take her place we have our good friend, and band manager, Felicity singing tonight! Give her a hand!" The crowd went wild, and I swear I was sweating. She handed the mic back to me and picked up her violin, which signaled me is to what song we were starting with.

I swallowed hard and looked out at the people seated close to the stage. I guess this wasn't too bad. I tried to focus on what Donte told me. (You know, before things got a little weird…)

As I spoke into the microphone, my voice shook a bit, but I don't think anyone noticed. "Our first song is _If I Die Young_." Most of the girls in the crowd went crazy. I took another deep breath; show time. I turned to Donte and Malec on my left and signaled "one…two…three" with my hand, and I left the words flow from my lips as I started out the song. Everyone else followed closely behind.

[**Bold = Felicity **_**Bold Italics = Felicity and Back-Up**_]

**If I die young, bury me in satin**

**Lay me down on a bed of roses**

**Sink me in the river at dawn**

**Send me away with the words of a love song**

_**Uh oh…**_

_**Uh oh…**_

**Lord, make me a rainbow I'll shine down on my mother**

**She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colors**

**Oh and, life ain't always what you think it ought to be**

**No, ain't even grey when she buries her baby**

**Oh, the sharp knife of a short life**

**Well I've had just enough time**

**If I die young,**_** bury me in satin**_

_**Lay me down on a bed of roses**_

_**Sink me in the river at dawn**_

_**Send me away with the words of a love song**_

_**The sharp knife of a short life**_

**Well I've had just enough time **

**And I'll be wearing white when I come into your kingdom**

**I'm as green as the ring on my little, cold finger**

**I've never known the lovin' of a man**

**But it sure felt nice when he was holding my hand**

**There's a boy here in towns says he'll love me forever**

_**Who would thought forever could be severed by**_

_**The sharp knife of a short life**_

_**Well I've had just enough time…**_

At the last couple of verses, I turned a little to my left and watched Donte as he played. He caught my gaze and smiled up at me, which (of course) made my heart speed up.

I backed away from the mic and let the others play their parts. Chevelle stepped up to center stage with me, playing her instrument beautifully. She smiled at me, which forced a smile on my own face. She swayed her body to the beat and I did the same, watching the crowd mimic us. I even seen a few lighters lit and being waved in the air. I almost laughed. Chevelle backed up and I stepped back up to the mic.

**So put on your best, boys**

**And I'll wear my pearls;**

**What I never did is done**

**A penny for my thoughts, oh no, I'll sell them for a dollar**

**They're worth so much more after I'm a goner**

**And maybe then you'll hear the words I been singin'**

**Funny when you're dead how people start listenin'…**

**If I die young,**_** bury me in satin**_

_**Lay me down on a bed of roses**_

_**Sink me in the river at dawn**_

_**Send me away with the words of a love song**_

**Uh oh **_(Uh oh…)_

**The ballad of a dove**

**Go with peace and love**

_**Gather up your tears**_

**Keep 'em in your pocket**

**Save them for a time when you're**

**Really gonna need 'em, oh**

_**The sharp knife of a short life**_

**Well I've had just enough time…**

**So put on your best, boys…**

**And I'll wear my pearls…**

At the end of the song, I was almost panting; that took a lot more out of me then I thought. There was no hesitation from the audience in their applause. I also noticed that more people were starting to gather around the stage. Oh, geez.

Chevelle stepped up to the mic again. "Okay! How was that, folks? Come on! Let her hear it!" They cheered louder than before, and I felt a blush rise in my cheeks. Chevelle laughed. "Well, we're going to change it up and give Felicity a break from singing. So, just give us a minute to get ready."

Chevelle pulled me behind the curtain and said, "You have to take Malec's place in guitar."

I groaned. "Seriously? It's like one thing after the other with you guys lately!"

She laughed. "Well, blame Andy for taking the trip. Now, I know you know how to play, so it shouldn't be too hard for you."

"I've only learned a few songs from Malec, and I screw up at least once every time." This was not going to be a pretty sight…

Malec appeared behind her. I hate it when he does that… "But you've done great in our practices and you know the songs. You'll do fine." He smiled and put a hand on my shoulder. "Beside, this is exactly what I was preparing you for."

I took me a minute to process what he said and her laughed his way back toward the stage. Then I yelled. "You, jerk! That's why you worked so hard with me to play the guitar!" I looked at Chevelle, just as mad at her. "You guys knew Andy was leaving _months_ in advance, didn't you?"

She shrugged and flashed me a guilty grin. "You know what they say: the show must go on…!"

I groaned and stomped away, heading toward stage; might as well finish off the night before I get too worked up about all this. I walked onto stage and everyone in the audience came to life, cheering now that everyone was present on stage. Malec held the guitar, waiting for me with a cocky smile he was so famous for. I snatched it from him and secured it around my shoulder. It was then that I decided I wouldn't be hard on myself anymore; tonight, I was going to show them just how well I could play.

"Hey," Malec said coolly into the microphone, causing every girl to squeal. I rolled my eyes, both at him and their reaction. "Sorry about the wait, but we're ready when you are." The crowd cheered and encouraged us to play.

Donte stepped up to his own mic, bass guitar secure on his own shoulder. "Hey, everybody! What do you say we pump up this party!" Cue more cheers and squealing and…well, you get the picture. "Malec and I will be singing _Sound of Madness_ by Shinedown."

Donte smiled and nodded to me, signaling me to start the song. To help me out, Emmett tapped his sticks to give me the beat before we both came in with the rhythm.

Chevelle sat this song out, but mad herself busy with the lighting and sound production. Donte started off with the very first verse, waiting for his part with bass to come in.

[**Bold = Donte** _Italics = Malec_ _**Bold/italics = Both**_]

**Yeah, I get it you're an outcast**

**Always under attack**

**Bringing up the past**

**No one owes you anything**

**I think you need a shotgun blast**

**A kick in the ass**

**So paranoid, Watch Your Back!**

_Oh, my!_

_Here we go!_

_Another loose cannon gone bipolar_

_Slipping down! Couldn't get much lower_

_Quick sand's got no sense of humor_

_I'm Still Laughing Like Hell!_

_You think that cryin' to me_

_Looking so sorry that I'm gunna believe_

_You've been infected by a social disease_

_Well Then Take Your Medicine!_

_**I created the sound of madness**_

_**Wrote the book on pain**_

_**And somehow I'm still here to explain**_

_**That the darkest hour**_

_**Never comes in the night**_

_**You can sleep with a gun**_

_**But when you gunna wake up **_

_**And Fight…For Yourself?**_

**I'm so sick of this tombstone mentality**

**If there's an afterlife then it'll set you free**

**But I'm not gunna parts the seas**

**To Your Self Fulfilling Prophecy**

**You think that cryin' to me**

**Looking so sorry that I'm gunna believe**

**You've been infected by a social disease**

**Well Then Take Your Medicine!**

_**I created the sound of madness**_

_**Wrote the book on pain**_

_**And somehow I'm still here to explain**_

_**That the darkest hour**_

_**Never comes in the night**_

_**You can sleep with a gun**_

_**But when you gunna wake up **_

_**And Fight…For Yourself?**_

This is where I show them just how well I can keep up. It was a pretty complicated part, but it wasn't too hard for me to do without difficulty. I stepped up to Malec's right side (Donte on his left with bass) and let my fingers pick the right notes with ease. I was actually as surprised as Malec and Donte looked. That smug look Malec wore earlier was now plastered on my face, pride in my ability to show up my brother swelled inside. Then I stepped back again to let Malec continue:

_I created the sound of madness_

_Wrote the book on pain_

_And somehow I'm still here to explain_

_That the darkest hour_

_Never comes in the night_

_**You can sleep with a gun**_

_**But when you gunna wake up **_

_When you gunna wake up_

_And Fight!_

_**I created the sound of madness**_

_**Wrote the book on pain**_

_**And somehow I'm still here to explain**_

_**That the darkest hour**_

_**Never comes in the night**_

_**You can sleep with a gun**_

_**But when you gunna wake up **_

_**And Fight…For yourself?**_

_**But when you gunna wake up **_

_**And Fight…For yourself?**_

_**But when you gunna wake up **_

_**And Fight…For yourself?**_

_**But when you gunna wake up **_

_**And Fight…For yourself?**_

_**But when you gunna wake up **_

_**And Fight…For yourself?**_

Let me just say, if I thought the crowd was loud when I sang, the screeching of the girls was… Well, it beat my cheers by a mile and a half. Not that really played a part in how I thought I did; it was pretty much flawless. And by that I mean I didn't make a mistake. Not once. Score one for me!

Sadly though, the guys didn't give me time to jump for joy, because they immediately started switching around again; Malec took the guitar from me and Chevelle pushed me up toward the mic again before taking her place at the keyboard. Cue confusion.

I put my hand on the mic and whispered loudly over the crowd, "What song?"

"_Hero_ by Skillet!" Chevelle called back harshly.

I made an 'O' with my lips. This song. Uh, oh. We practiced this song once over the last three days, and yeah I did fine but I had to actually think about what my lines were. Malec counted off and the others were quick to start the song. I on the other hand was quick to replay the song in my head and rethink the lyrics. The only thing that was different about our version from the original is instead of two guitar's Chevelle used her keyboard to mimic the second guitar sound. It was actually pretty cool.

[**Bold = Donte** _Italics = Felicity __**Bold/Italics = Both**_]

**I'm just a step away**

**I'm just a breath away**

**Losing my faith today**

_Falling off the edge today_

**I am just a man**

**No superhero man**

_I'm not superhero man_

**Someone save me from the hate**

**It's just another war**

**Just another family torn**

_Falling from my faith today_

**Just a step from the edge**

**Just another day in the world we live**

_**I need a hero**_

**To save me now**

**I need a hero**

_To save me now_

_**I need a hero**_

**To save my life**

**A hero will save me**

_Just in time_

**I've gotta fight today**

**To live another day**

**Speaking my mind today**

_My voice will be heard today_

**I've gotta make a stand**

**But I am just a man**

_I'm no superhero man_

**My voice will be heard today!**

**It's just another war**

**Just another family torn**

_My voice will be heard today_

**It's just another kill**

**The countdown begins **

**To destroy ourselves**

_**I need a hero**_

**To save me now**

**I need a hero**

_To save me now_

_**I need a hero**_

**To save my life**

**A hero will save me**

_Just in time_

**I need a hero **

**To save my life**

**I need a hero**

**Just in time**

_Save me just in time_

**Save me just in time**

_**Whose gunna fight for what's right**_

_**Whose gunna help us survive**_

**We're in the fight of our lives **

_And we're not ready to die_

_**Whose gunna fight for the weak**_

_**Whose gunna make 'em believe**_

**I've got hero** _(I've got a hero)_

**Livin' in me**

_**I've gotta fight for what's right**_

_**Today I'm speaking my mind**_

**And if it kills me tonight**

_I will be ready to die_

**A hero's not afraid **

**To give his life**

_**A hero's gunna save me**_

_**Just in time!**_

**I need a hero **

**To save me now**

**I need a hero**

_To save me now_

_**I need a hero**_

**To save my life**

**A hero will save me**

_Just in time_

**(I need a hero)**

_Whose gunna fight for what's right_

_Whose gunna help us survive_

**(I need a hero)**

_Whose gunna fight for the weak _

_Whose gunna make us believe_

**I need a hero…**

_**I need a hero!**_

_**A hero's gunna save me **_

_**Just in time!**_

I have one phrase to describe the rest of the night: indescribably amazing.

**-Time Skip: The Next Morning-**

"Morning, Malec!" I said cheeringly, poking my head into his bedroom. Unfortunately for him, he was still asleep. Feeling a bit devilish today, I tip-toed into his room, leaned over his sleeping form and made a small 'pop' sound in his ear. Let me say now that Malec is not a morning person. He would rather die than be woken up early on a Sunday. (Or rather I should say he'd kill a person if he was woken up, and then go back to bed.) So, just as I made the noise, his arm came up and slammed against my defensive arms – which I barely had time to put up before he swung – and literally sent me flying into the opposite wall. Believe it or not, I hit the floor _laughing_.

"Damn it, Felicity! What have I said a thousand times about waking me up early?" Wow. He was mad. He pulled himself from bed wearing his favorite black sweats and a grey tank top, his short-ish jet black hair going every which way.

I laughed harder and scrambled to my feet, barely dodging a swing that came at my head. "That sentence didn't even make sense, Malec!" I said, dodging a kick aimed at me legs.

This became a tradition (for me) really; every other Sunday I would sneak into this room a give him a rude awakening. Though it seems after each time our 'fights' get more rough.

He chased me around his room, me dodging and defending his blows, and him aiming perfectly. Thank God I have good reflexes. After a few minutes, I was running out of places to run and made a dash for the door. Malec followed, barely clearing the door as he sprinted after me.

"Get back here!" he yelled, though I could sense humor in his voice now. This has turned into a game for him as well.

"That's not how you play tag, silly!" I called back, ducking into the kitchen where our parents watched us cautiously. Dad just shook his head in dismay and Mom yelped when she turned around and was almost plowed over by Malec, never hearing our silent footsteps.

He finally managed to corner me in the foyer and he stopped in front of me, blocking my only exit. He smirked, realizing my fate. I stuck my tongue out him. We are really mature, if you didn't notice already.

My dad came into view, holding his coffee. "If you guys are going to fight, do it outside."

"And you're patching up your own injuries this time!" My mom called from the kitchen.

In one fluid motion, I clicked the latch to the door, swung it open and took off like a bat out of hell - literally. I snapped open my wings and took off into the sky, Malec following behind. That's right, wings. We're the first _born_ avian-human hybrids. You can probably imagine how many evil scientists we've come face-to-face with in our childhoods.

My name is Felicity Ride, and this is a normal Sunday.

**:::**

**Such a lame ending… Ugh. Anyway, that'll end this chapter. Hope it was good, I've never done a song fic before, so I'm thinking it was alright. However, this will be the last time the band makes an appearance until the end of the chapter. The rest of the story will be filled in with blood, romance, adventure, and worry. (Not necessarily in that order.)**

**Thanks For Reading! R&R**


	4. C3: A Peculiar Disappearance and a Baby

**Future History**

Chapter Three: A Peculiar Disappearance and a Baby

**Max POV**

"Gaz! _Please_ sit still!" I have been complaining to Gazzy for the last five minutes! He hasn't stopped pacing the hallway since they shut the door in his face. It was getting rather irritating.

"But, what if something goes wrong?" the father-to-be wonders aloud, though not to anyone in particular. "What if she needs me in there?"

"Gazzy, man, she's fine!" Iggy assures him. He was sitting next to his wife – my sister Ella – in one of the two chairs in the small hallway.

"They're only helping her into her gown," Nudge states, trying not to giggle at Gazzy's expense. She and her husband, Jack, stood waiting by the door. "There's nothing too stressful about that. She'll be just fine when they let you in."

Gazzy eventually stopped pacing. Ella offers up her chair, much to Iggy's dismay, and Gazzy is quick to take a seat. "Are you sure?" he asks, eyes still way too wide with worry for my liking. ( many 'w's in that sentence for me, folks!)

"Scout's honor," Fang says mockingly as he lazily holds two of his fingers in the air. I had to resist the urge to hit him and settled for glaring at him briefly. Nope. Almost thirty-five years for knowing this guy, and that look still never fazes him. I guess it's really just meant as a warning glare.

After a few more minutes of waiting, the nurses came out of Alexis' room. Gazzy jumped to his feet so fast, it put Iggy on alert, nearly ready to jump into a battle.

"She's ready for you to see her now!" a nurse announced, almost too happily for my taste.

"We've placed her IV catheter, so she and the baby will be getting most of their fluids that way," another pointed out. "We also have her hooked up a heart monitor to…well, _monitor_ the baby's progress."

"But you shouldn't visit for too long," the first one started again. "She'll need as much rest as she can get."

We all nod in thanks and follow an anxious Gazzy inside. (I made a mental note to never let Gazzy get this nervous. Ever.)

Gazzy practically flew over to her bed – no pun intended. "Are you feeling okay, Ally? How are your contractions? Are they getting worse? Do you need anything?"

Alexis looked overwhelmed, but laughed inspite of her husband's pointless questions.

"Whoa, hey! I didn't know we were playing twenty questions! I wasn't ready," Iggy commented, earning him a slap from Ella and me. Ha! Sister double-team! Believe it or not, that happens a lot when we both catch something stupid Iggy says.

Alexis ignored her 'technical' idiot brother-in-law, much like the rest of us do. "I'm fine, honey. Really." She pointed to a nearby chair. "Now, please sit down before you faint. I can't worry about you hitting the floor and delivering this baby, too."

He only nodded and complied to her orders.

"Give him five minutes and he'll be out," Fang stated truthfully.

I stepped up to the bed, placing a gentle hand on Alexis' shoulder. Alexis is one of the very limited amount of people we keep in good contact with outside the Flock. We put all of our trust in her and treat like part of the family. "How are you feeling? Any dizziness?"

She shook her head. "No, nothing like the contractions. But other than that I am perfectly fine." She flashed us that beaming smile she was so famous for.

A couple minutes later Gazzy was, in fact, passed out in his chair. The nurses came back and basically told us to beat it. I kissed Gazzy on the head and hugged Ally briefly, wishing them both the best of luck. Everyone said their good-byes and best wishes, and we exited the room.

"I think me and Fang will head back home and check on the kids," I said as we all walked from the third floor elevator to the lobby. "You guys stay here and keep an eye on things."

"Like making sure Gazzy really _doesn't_ freak out and faint." Fang received another glare from me.

Iggy saluted us. "Roger that, gold leader."

"Over and out!" Jack finished, causing both wives to roll their eyes at their humiliating husbands. I would have been embarrassed, too. Thank God Fang isn't like that. He's really only a smart ass about everything – not that that's any better.

Fang and I don't usually drive on the main land unless we are with Mom. And because this all happened at home and very fast, we didn't have time to call her and let her know about this. We flew Alexis to the hospital and called Mom when we got there. Odds are she was going to bring Frank, her new husband, along with her.

As Fang and I flew back toward the direction of the house, I started thinking. "Maybe it's time we sold our houses on the island," I suddenly said aloud. Oops.

Fang just looked at me; his way of telling me to continue. "I mean, our family keeps getting bigger, and it's getting harder and harder for us to get the kids to school and get Alexis, Jack, and Ella to the main land on a daily bases."

He didn't say anything for a while, and then nodded. "Yeah. Maybe you're right."

I smirked. "I'm always right. I'm still Flock leader, you know?"

Fang rolled his eyes, that hint of a smile showing. "Whatever."

The rest of our thirty minute flight was uneventful. We tried to keep a fast pace in case Ally went into labor and we weren't there.

Fang and I eventually made it to our house on the far side of the island. We walked up to the front porch and immediately knew something was off. My heart leapt into my throat, but I stayed calm. Fang and I crept into the house like church mice, not making a sound. We did our low pitched whistles that we taught each of our children in case of rare emergencies like this. Unfortunately, there was no answer. There was no one in the house, so Fang and I turned off the stealthy mode.

"Where could they have gone?" I asked, about ready to punch something – I hadn't been this nervous since our last run in with Flyboys at Disney World almost seventeen years ago, when our first child, Malec, was one.

"Do you think someone found the house?" Fang asked, as if he were trying to bring my worst fears to life. Malec was a great fighter, much like his father, but he couldn't take on a sudden ambush while trying to protect his family. It's a tough job.

"I didn't notice anything out of place. Nor did I see footprints or anything coming up to the house." I took another look around for what felt like the hundredth time, just to be sure.

Then we heard a loud _**thud**_ from the roof. We both took off like blood hounds for the second floor balcony, planning on accessing the roof from there. We just made it to the top of the stairs and threw open the balcony doors in time to find something I would have never expected.

"What are you five doing on the roof?" I demanded, using my "mother" voice Iggy hated so much when we were younger.

Malec was at the bottom of what looked like a bird-kid version of a dog pile. Sprawled out on top of him was Felicity, me and Fang's second oldest – she's fifteen; Tyler, Jack and Nudge's only son – he's ten; and Iggy and Ella's daughters Vanessa – sixteen – and Natalia – thirteen.

"And where's Faye?" Fang asked, making a quick assessment that the youngest of the children-group was absent from our head count.

"She's…up there…," Felicity groaned groaned as she made an effort of pointing to the rooftop.

Vanessa grunted, trying to get loose. "Hell if I know which way is up any more."

I hurried out of the doorway in time to catch my youngest daughter from her sudden leap off the roof.

The kids finally untangled themselves, each of them groaning, stretching or rubbing sore spots from their fall. I glared at the children in front of me, especially my three. Fang kept a watchful eye on the sky behind me. "Report!" I ordered, startling Vanessa and Natalia.

"Well, Tyler started freaking out because he didn't have his favorite Sippy-cup," my son explained, completely unfazed by my hard stare. He's like Fang in almost every way. And it just keeps getting scarier. The only noticeable difference is he has my brown eyes.

"Yeah," Faye said in my arms, giving me those damn Bambi eyes. She looked more like me, except she had Fang's dark black wings – much like Malec's.

Felicity cracked her back – probably to get the kinks out of it – so she was next to catch my attention. "So, we flew over to their house to get the oh-so-special cup he just _had_ to have." She was more or less the perfect blend of me and Fang. She had his hair, but my personality (which Fang still dreads). Her eyes are a really dark brown, and her wings are black with white feathers on the ends.

"We didn't mean to get in trouble, Aunt Max," Natalia says sweetly, looking on the verge of tears. She earned her mother's shyness and enhanced it with her own power: being able to increase and decrease one's emotions. It's really scary when she scrapes her knee and he sister doesn't heal her fast enough.

"Yeah, sorry," Vanessa said, making her own attempt at an apology. She was more like Iggy just by her personality alone; stubborn and blind – her blindness was 'natural' with an unknown cause. (That's why Iggy and Ella were nervous when Natalia was born.)

I sighed. "It's fine. Let's just get inside the house." Fang and I ushered them all to the down stairs living room and turned on the TV for Faye, Tyler and Nat.

Malec, Vanessa, and Felicity followed us to the kitchen. "So, tells us how you fell from the roof." I was honestly just curious. Everyone, minus Tyler, were great flyers so a stumble from a roof was puzzling.

"Tyler burped," Felicity said. And that was all she had to say.

I nodded, putting it all together in my head.

You see, Tyler gained the ability to use ultrasonic waves in his burps. The downside – as if it wasn't obvious enough – is that he can't control when they happen, so it's always a scare when he's around glass objects.

"Yep," Vanessa added in a matter-of-fact tone."He literally knocked us off balance and we all tumbled over each other and off the roof."

I nodded again. "Well, the next time you guys decide to go on a magical adventure, leave a note so we know." The girls and I laughed at my lame attempt at a joke. The boys just barely smiled. They can be such hams.

About fifteen minutes later I got a call from Mom saying Alexis had gone into an early labor. By then, Felicity was helping Vanessa to the bathroom to shower. I hadn't realized that it was around 5:30 at night when Fang and I left the kids for the first time.

Fang and I were, of course, ready to go in seconds. Sixteen plus years of running for your life could do that to ya. "Malec, you're still in charge," I stated, opening the front door.

He nodded. "Like always."

"No goofing around in the house. Especially in the kitchen where all of the sharp objects are," Fang pointed out, going over the Mom-and-Dad-are-going-out-so-behave-yourselves house rules. Our son nodded to each rule stated. "Don't let your sisters or cousins stay up too late; Faye gets crabby like her mother when she doesn't get her beauty sleep. We should only be out for a couple hours, but if we aren't back by 10, lock down the house. Each of you share two rooms like always – the girls in Felicity's room and the boys in yours." Fang was never one to talk much, so when he did talk, it was a serious matter.

"And we have the key to the house, so we should be here when you wake up tomorrow morning," I said lastly, giving my son a very quick and brief good-bye hug. Just the way he liked them, if you can even say that.

And with that we were off again, making a mad dash for the hospital. That's when I realized Fang's comment from earlier. "So, what did you mean when you said Faye gets 'crabby like her mother'?"

It sure was a long night…though, even that can be considered an understatement.

Alexis was fine for the most part. It was a false alarm when Mom called us back at the house. The guys were pretty much no help throughout the waiting process. Me, Mom, Ella, and Nudge helped by getting ice-chips for Alexis, or another snack for Gazzy to calm his nerves. Frank and Jack would occasionally talk about the football game or who did what at work and something funny they had read on the internet. Iggy was way too lazy for that and settled for sleeping on Ella's lap most of the time. Fang was, of course, on alert. Over these many years, I've learned to not be so suspicious of the world, now that Itex is gone, anyway.

Around 8:00, I decided to call Malec and let him know we were going to be a bit late.

He didn't answer. My nerves spiked, my mind jumping to horrid conclusions. When he didn't pick up on my third attempt, I tapped Fang on the shoulder. "Malec isn't answering his phone," I said, willing my phone with my eyes to suddenly start ringing and have Malec's number appear on the stupid screen. "I wanted to tell him we would be a bit longer here."

Fang only glanced up from his computer for a moment before he closed it and started fishing for his phone in his pocket. He searched for Malec's number and dialed. I don't know what pissed me off more: The fact that Malec answered Fang's call before the first ring, or that fact that Fang acted like it was his idea to call!

"Malec," Fang started as soon as our son answered, "it's gunna be a little longer." Pause."Talk? Okay." For a second there I thought he was going to hand the phone to me so I could talk to Malec. Then again, I've learned to expect differently with Fang. "Okay. See you later tomorrow morning. Good night, son." Then he hung up, and glanced at me as he opened his laptop again. "Happy?"

I leaned back in my chair. "Somehow, I'm more pissed off than I was before…."

"That's the aftermath of your husband's hypnotizing eyes talking," Iggy said, stretching in his seat as we woke from what I was pretty sure was his fourth cat nap. "They swirl like a whirlpool – kinda like the black hole in his heart that forms when he feels emotion."

That did it. Now it was going to turn into an all-out-insult-to-injury war.

Fang turned to face him, though (obviously) wasn't expecting to receive much back from the blind man across from him. "At least I can see the love of my life without having to picture fresh meat in my mind as a replacement."

I had to hand it to him, that was a good one. Though very sexist. Great. Now all my boys are turning into sexist pigs. (Yes, I still call the guys my boys. It stuck when the phrase "guy"s didn't appeal to them at certain times.)

Iggy laughed. "I don't have to picture the meat, my Emo friend." A huge smirk spread on his face and I swear it made my skin crawl just thinking about what he could possible add to that. "Because I _supply it._"

…I could have never been more humiliated in my life… And if thought my face was heating up, my sister's face was beat red. Of course she slapped him hard up-side his head.

Before anyone could do anything more about it (Iggy was now rubbing a sore spot), Gazzy burst around the corner and yelled, "The baby's coming!" across the relatively quiet waiting room. We all jumped up, the other topic suddenly forgotten (for now).

"Is everything okay?" my mom asked, voicing my own thoughts.

Gazzy nodded vigorously, a huge, goofy smile on his face. "Yeah! Her and the baby are fine! We just have to move her to the delivery room." As if on cue, the nurses pushed Alexis out of the doors to her room and down the hall, her sweat-streaked face pained as expected.

There were a few "Well, that's good" and "Thank god she's okay" comments. I decided to by the optimistic one.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get over there and greet your son!" I encouraged almost as loudly as his entrance. I motioned toward Alexis' direction but he didn't move, his face serious now.

"I came out here for a reason," he said, keeping his eyes on me.

I raised a brow, my hands on my hips. "And what's that? You don't plan on getting out of being there for your wife, do you?"

He shook his head. "No, I came out here because Ally and I want you to be in there with us, Max."

I was shock, to say the least. I mean, it took almost everything I had – as well as a few death treats – to get Fang to be in the room with me when Malec was born. This was…a change.

"I…uh…" Oh, brilliant, Max. Make yourself look like an idiot in public again.

"Max, go!" Nudge…well, nudged me, urging me to follow Gazzy to the delivery room. That's when I decided it was almost weird that I was the one following the nurses to the delivery room, rather than being pushed there on the bed.

**:::**

**I apologize for any guys reading this; I'm not sure a baby delivery is something guys want to read about… But! The show must go on! (Why does that sound familiar…?) Anyway, I don't think this is one of my better chapters; I think the better ones are coming up when it switches POVs. But that's just my opinion. You guys will have to tell me what you think.**

**Thanks For Reading! R&R**

**-Aly**


	5. C4: Well I'll Be Damned

**Future History**

Chapter Four: Well, I'll Be Damned

**Max POV**

Alexis is a very fragile person. Physically, anyway. Mentally, she's a steel wall. So she needed more encouragement to get through the labor than anything. I held on to her shoulders and encouraged her to take deep, quick breathes and to push, while her husband held her hand and kissed the side of her head as encouragement.

It seemed like forever, but little Daniel Alexander Matthews (Gazzy's adopted last name that he took when he turned eighteen) was finally born! The poor, tired couple had decided on a name during the long hours of waiting.

That joyous moment when the doctor wraps the child in a baby blanket and says "It's a healthy boy!" didn't come. Instead his eyes were filled with dread when he said, "He's not breathing!"

You can imagine how skeptical I was about that.

The doctor – didn't bother to ask his name – started barking out orders to the nurses. Both parents' faces fell at the news, worry etched into their faces as Gazzy held his withering wife. I leaned down by Alexis and whispered to the both of them, "Stay calm. I'll handle this." Gazzy nodded but Alexis was too stunned and exhausted to answer.

"Doctor, do you mind if I have a look at him?" I asked, though I really didn't give him time to respond to the question before I snatched the infant from his arms.

"Wait! He's still helpless to any kind of contaminants. You really shouldn't." A few of his nurses tried to coax me into handing the baby over, but they knew who I was and how I feel about people I don't know or trust approaching me. They immediately backed off with just one look.

I carefully took one corner of the blanket away from the child's face, which, I might add, was way too tight. When the cloth was free from his face, he started squirming and crying loudly. I heard sighs of relief come from the parents and they smiled lightly. Gazzy kissed his wife's sweaty forehead. I on the other hand wasn't smiling. I gave baby Daniel a quick once over, and he seemed fine.

I looked up at the man that called himself a doctor. "It's funny how you presumed he wasn't breathing when, in reality, his blanket was just a little too tight on his face," I stated, keeping my face straight, unreadable. "I wonder why you'd say that…" I trailed off, trying to throw a hint to Gazzy, which he nodded – which went unnoticed by everyone else.

The doctor didn't say anything at first, but when he did finally find his words, all her could say was, "Um, well…I guess you are right, Mrs. Ride." The nurses halted in everything they were doing, stopping to stare.

"Max…" Alexis said in a weak voice. I knew exactly what she wanted. I cautiously handed her the baby, who almost immediately quieted down when he sensed his mother's touch. She cradled Daniel close, whispering to him softly.

Gazzy scooted in behind his wife on the bed, holding them both close. Then his eyes were on the doctor again, glaring harder than I had ever seen.

"Doctor, I'm going to have to ask you and your nurses to leave the room," I stated bluntly.

He was stunned. "What? We can't! We have to give the child his first bath and-" I stopped him right there.

"Doctor, you just announced the youngest and newest member of my ever growing family to be dead when you should have realized you wrapped the blanket too tight around his neck." I stepped between the bed and the doctor. I could tell by the look in his eye that he knew I was on to something – and boy was it something. "Now, I'm going to ask you to leave by the count of three. And I suggest highly that you don't let me get to the number 'three'.One."

He held up his hands, as if he thought I was actually going to hit him. Okay, so the thought had crossed my mind – big deal! "Whoa, hold on. There doesn't need to be any violence."

"Two."

The nurses looked a little nervous, seeming like they wanted to make a mad dash for the door right there and then.

But, sadly, time was up. Three.

"Fang!" I called out. "Puiur!"

Pretty much as expected, Fang was through the door and assessing the situation before anyone could blink. His gaze went from me, then our family, then to the doctor, his muscles tense. His eyes eventually found mine again, searching for some kind of hint. I didn't give any way. "My mom, too." He quickly stepped aside and let her through. I saw five other curious faces behind him.

"What's going on?" Ella asked quietly.

"Is Alexis okay?" Nudge asked, Iggy behind her wondering the say thing. I saw their muscles tense, ready to leap into anything. Oh, so much like good times.

I couldn't answer them just yet. First, I needed this doctor out of my sight.

"What can I do, Max?" my Mom asked, making sure I saw the questioning look in her eyes.

"Can you take over checking to make sure the baby is okay?" I asked nicely, turning briefly to flash her a smile even _she_ knew was fake.

She nodded. "Of course." While my mom coaxed Alexis to give her Daniel, the doctor didn't look one bit happy, but he kept his cool and told his nurses to "do as I wished". A girl to could get used to that kind of response.

"You do realize I will have to report you for violating and denying a doctor's direct advise," he said, pausing at the door.

My smile faltered. "And _you_ must realize that I will have to report you for attempting murder on the third degree. You are talking to one of the most powerful lawyers in the state." I nodded, faking another way-to-happy-smile. "Thank you, doctor, but you can rest easily on your lunch break that my mother will take it from here." I kept my voice pleasant and appealing. Honestly, I just wanted him to leave the room more than anything at that point.

When he was gone, everyone else stepped inside and closed the door. I gave everyone a look that said "Be quiet for now."

"Honey…" Alexis said in that weak voice, though it seemed to be getting weaker. "He's so beautiful…" Tears fell from her eyes, her gaze never leaving the bundle in her arms.

Gazzy let a small tear fall from his eye, too. "I know."

I noticed how tired she was and stepped closer to the bed. Her eyes were red and puffy as she slowly dragged her gaze to me. "Can I hold him?" I asked gently holding out my hands to take him.

She nodded and smiled. Slowly she passed the child over and lazily leaned into Gazzy's chest.

I bounced ever so slightly, something my own kids loved when they were really young. He already had Gazzy's bright blond hair tufted on top of his head. And I could only imagine whose eyes he'll have. "He's amazing," I confirmed, being quick to pass him off to Nudge, who looked about ready to explode with excitement. Her and Jack gawked over him for a few minutes while we all sat comfortably, watching Mom clean up Alexis.

Fang came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me protectively. "You want another one, don't you?"

I looked back at him, completely caught off guard. My answer would have been yes and no. Yes, because Both Nudge and I went through some kind of 'Emotional breakdown' when we had our kids, and it only happened with us Avian woman. It was weird, and I don't know if I could take it a fifth time. "And you do?"

He just shrugged. I hated it when he starts the conversation then just drops it like a rock. But before I can say anything else, my mom says, "It looks like the mother is finally asleep."

Sure enough, Alexis was fast asleep in the protective hold Gazzy had on her. I smiled. "Looks like Gaz is on his way, too."

He smiled for a second before he completely relaxed into the bed. Within seconds, his breathing evened out; which was a good indicator that he was asleep.

"We can't really risk moving them, can we?" Nudge said. She had passed Daniel on to Ella. "I mean, considering what happened here."

I shot her a confused look, but Frank was the one to voice my question. "How do you know what happened?"

She rolled her eyes slightly. "Oh, please. Max was radiating so much pent up energy, she might as well have drawn the images herself."

Frank still looked confused.

"Remember, dear, Nudge can read events and emotions trough other objects," my mom explained. "She had her hand on the door the whole time, telling us what was happening," my mom explained, wrapping her arm around his waist. His arm immediately went around her shoulders.

"Ah," he said, chuckling to himself. "You guys act so normal all the time, I sometimes forget you have these special abilities."

"Don't we all," I said, too low for him to hear. Everyone – minus Gazzy – smiled slightly.

So, I explained everything that happened in the room while they were waiting outside. To be honest, I wasn't expecting anything less than what I got: panic, worry, and surprise.

"So, what do we do now?" Iggy asked, who was not graced with holding Daniel for the first time. I saw his hand gently rub the soft blanket as he held the baby to his chest. "Stay here and keep watch? I don't know about the rest of you, but I want the hell out of this damned nightmare."

My mom nodded in understanding. "Frank and I will stay here and watch over them." Frank, a loyal husband indeed, didn't hesitate to nod in agreement. "Tomorrow morning we will discharge her and get out of here. I agree with Iggy, I'm not liking this place."

I nodded, completely drained myself.

We moved Alexis back to her room ourselves, refusing help from nurses standing outside the door. Iggy had sensed them there the whole time and warned us before we walked out. We woke Alexis and Gazzy just long enough to change her bed and gown before they were curled up on the bed again, fast asleep. We set up another bed for my mom and an extra chair just in case. When the chief of the Delivery Department came to our room, calming asking why we blew off his nurses, I explained to him, too what had happened and he agreed to leave the room be until we returned tomorrow to discharge. To my surprise, he even offered to drop the charges what came with the delivery service. Who would pass that up? I warned him of his doctor, telling him the name I caught on his badge, and he said he'd find him and will be questioned.

When the rest of us got back home, we opened the front door and found Malec sitting up on the couch, roused from sleep when the door opened. Any other time Iggy or Nudge's kids sleep over, they'd share my kids' rooms. But I guess this wasn't one of those days. We found everyone spread out around the living room – some on the floor and some on furniture. I couldn't help but laugh a little. It was just so cute.

After coaxing our kids into their own beds, Fang and I helped the other two couples take their kids home.

(And at this point I bet you're wondering how we get Ella, Alexis and Jack over the water. Well, I have the ability to control water. Over the years, I've learned how to turn it super-hot or super-cold. I freeze a patch of ice and create a platform for them to stand on while I make the ice literally follow behind us using my noodle. Cool, right? (Please ignore that pun.))

The package deal that comes with being a mutant freak is the cool powers. Sadly, each power comes with a price, especially the more powerful ones. Of course, our kids come with them, too. (God, that made it seem like I was trying to sell my kids… You didn't just read any of that.)

Malec gained his first ability when he was three, which was hard because although his power didn't affect him in any way, you could literally see sparks when he slid his feet across the carpet. He has the ability to create and control electricity using the enhanced electrical signals in his body. As a bonus (yay), he can also sense when a person is lying just by the wavelength of one's voice. He developed that ability when he was about ten-years-old. Guess when he stopped believing in Santa and the Easter Bunny.

Felicity has a very rare ability that I honestly didn't think was possible: telekinesis. That's right, folks. When that kid wanted a cookie, she got her cookie. She developed her power when she was about 5, so she really gave us a break when it came to power adaption, unlike her brother. Over the years, she's gone from using the power with her mind to using her hands to move object. Oh, what a job that period was.

Faye, my little baby – as of now, according to the "signals" Fang is sending me lately – has the power to create barriers at whim. She has also recently learned how to make barriers that allow only certain and specific people in. She's very smart for her age – and she's only seven, for crap's-sake!

I swear, I have never really thought about my past other than the glimpses of memories of my family growing up. Now, as I brush my teeth at the end of this long day, I thought of where my son and daughters are heading, I found myself thinking about what happened almost twenty years ago. As I crawled into bed with Fang, something occurred to me; the baby, Daniel, already looks very much like someone from my past – someone who I haven't seen in a very long time.

Angel.

**:::**

**Well there's chapter 2. I hope you like. It was kind fun for me to write, as well as a pain because I not only have to keep up with different personalities, I also have to re-create them to make the Flock a little more mature. (Besides Iggy – he will forever be a dork. =D) And on top of that, I need to "manifest" 6 or 7 new personalities and play with them until they "come alive" and I like how they play their part. Damn. I never would have thought writing any kind of book/story would be so hard… lol**

**Anyway, I don't know if suffocating a baby is murder by the 'third degree' – I honestly don't know what that means! Just go with it. Lol I also noticed that Vanessa didn't play much of a part in the previous three chapters. Well, you'll see why later on.**

**Thanks For Reading! R&R**

**-Aly**


	6. C5: Way Over Protective Father

**The title is almost a dead give-away of what this chapter is about.**

**Future History**

Chapter Five: Way Over Protective Father

**Max POV **(~~About Three Months Later~~)

It's amazing how normal everything feels after something big changes in a person's life. Before the baby was born, Gazzy, Alexis, and everyone else were over almost every day to visit – it seemed to be the social gathering place of the century. Now that Danny is finally here, I barely see them twice a week. No, I'm not jealous of a baby. I didn't see much of my family when Malec was born, but after my next two kids I usually invited Iggy and the others over to watch them while Fang and I slept. It sounds like a cheap trick – luring in my family to watch my kids then leave the room to sleep – but they didn't care because now there was enough of kids to keep everyone busy.

Over the last couple of months, we've offered to watch Danny so the newly-wed parents could sleep in or go out for a night on the town, but they've declined all of our offers. We even offered Malec and the girls to watch them – mind you, he wasn't too happy about us volunteering him for stuff. I didn't let it bother me though. I was sure they would want to get away from it all sooner or later.

"Mom! We're ready!" Felicity yelled across the yard. "Tell dad to hurry it up!"

I smiled. _That's my impatient-ness coming through in her_.

Fang and I, being lovely parents that we are, decided to take Malec, Felicity, and Vanessa to the mall. Felicity's birthday is in about a week, so I figured she could pick out stuff she liked and we could get an idea of what she wants.

"Vanessa…!" my oldest daughter said tauntingly. _Oh God… This can't be good._ "How much do you wanna bet that _Erik_ will be there?" she asked, barely dodging a rock Vanessa hurled at her. She giggled – something I don't recall ever doing, so Fang can't pin that one on me – as Vanessa's face turned red, a blush spreading quickly over her nose and cheeks.

"Shut up, Felicity!" Iggy's oldest and possibly most "evil" daughter said in a very threatening voice. She pulled the hood of her coat over her head – something she always did when she was uncomfortable. Then she got what kind of looked like an angry yet sly smile on her face. "I bet I know who you are excited to see!"

Felicity's face went from all smile to complete terror, with a splash of anger.

Now, up until a moment ago, Fang was in the house grabbing any last minute things, and he just so happened to walk out at that point. He paused very briefly in shutting the door but was quick to recover. His face was calm but his eyes told another story.

Uh oh…

"Vanessa…" Felicity said, venom that was usually thick in my voice (a trait she received from both of us) was dripping from her words. "Stop while you are ahead." She threw a nervous glance at her dad, who pretended to busy himself with looking through his pack.

But the blind girl wasn't fazed by her threats – wow, does that sound familiar to anyone else? – and went on with her own taunts. "Well, if you didn't spill about Erik, I wouldn't have said anything about—Ugh! Hey!" Suddenly, the draw strings on Vanessa's hoodie drew tight, nearly consuming her whole head. "Felicity! You know I hate it when you do that!"

"Learn to keep your mouth shut so I don't have to shut it for you," Felicity countered.

I was actually smiling at their bantering, not bothering to stop them because I knew there was no chance of that. Fang, on the other hand was watching his daughter closely, as if waiting for something to happen.

Pulling the fabric from her face, Felicity's "cousin" and long term friend said, "Ever hear of the phase 'an eye for an eye'?" That sly smile made an appearance again.

Felicity playfully punched her shoulder. "Not that they'll be much use to you." Then, just like that, they were best friends again, like nothing ever happened.

My only son was always one to keep out of conversations that didn't involve him so he made himself busy with practicing his dive techniques. That is, until Felicity and Vanessa proceeded to taunt him with their powers.

Vanessa had the ability to create light that only she could see and use it as a beacon, in a way. Even though he couldn't see it, he could feel it. When she throws it – with amazing accuracy, by the way – it explodes like a puff of air. She also has the ability to heal.

Fang wasn't handling it as well. At all. This was something I had never seen him react so strongly toward. Sure, there are times Felicity will piss him off and he'll go out for a flight and pout, but not like this. He walked right past me on the porch, broke into a run and launched himself into the air. _Oh great_, I thought_. Not only do I have a hormonal teenager on my hands, but also an up-tight husband._ I sighed, following my family into the sky. _This will prove to be an interesting day_.

While we all flew to the mall, I noticed that Fang had turned invisible. (WTF!) I did a quick sweep of the sky to make sure I wasn't mistaken. Then I felt a couple of rhythmic gusts from above me. He was there – somewhere.

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to a.) remember the last time he was like this, and b.) calm my nerves before I said and/or did something outrageous that I was sure to regret later on.

. . . . .

Yep. Never seen him like this before. But – good news! – I have self-control.

"Fang," I said, glancing up and over my shoulder. He hadn't reappeared yet, and I was tempted to call him a pouting puppy, which he hated because I accuse him of it whenever sulks like this. (Remember Max, self-control.) The others were farther ahead; they couldn't hear me over the roar of the wind. "She's fifteen – almost sixteen, actually. She was going to grow up sooner or later." I watched my daughter chase her brother around, trying to tag him. "I'm worried about her, too, so don't think I'm not when I say this: You have to let go of that protective hold you have on her."

"And what about that whole 'no friends at the house' rule you set?" he stated accusingly. I glanced over my shoulder again – he was visible.

"Hey, that was a suggestion," I defended. "You were the one to jump at the chance and enforced it."

He was silent – a typical response.

Feeling sorry for my comment (and those feelings don't come often), I dipped my wing and did a flip to coast above him. I slowly let myself descend until I was able to wrap my arms around his chest. He evened out his wing beat to match mine. I said softly, "You can protect her from the world, but not from aging. Or from love." His shoulder muscles tensed. I kissed his cheek. "I love you to the moon and back, and so do they. But they will grow up like we did. Well, not exactly, but something similar. It's our job to make sure they have the life we always wanted at their age. I know we will never, ever truly grow apart because we are _so_ close as a family. And that's why it's not so hard for me to let her grow up. I bet if you see it the way I do, it'll be easy for you, too."

He was quiet for a while. Then he placed one of his hands over my arm that crossed his chest. "They grow up faster than you want them too."

I smiled, resting my cheek on his back. "They sure do."

When we got to the mall, we met up with one of Malec's friends, Donte. The boys met in the 7th grade and were friends ever since. They even started up a band when they went into high school. Malec is the lead guitarist and Donte is the lead singer. As bad as it sounds, we don't see much of our kids' friends; with them being at school and us working, it's hard to fit meetings into the schedule.

"Mom, Dad. You remember Donte." Malec introduced us, seeming almost bored by the action. So much like his father. Donte was as tall as Malec with messy – yet somehow stylish – blond hair and bright blue eyes. Although, to my dismay, they also dressed alike. (Sigh.)Other than that, he of seemed to stand out in a group of kids with dark hair and brown or black eyes.

Donte's hand twitched at his side, like he was going to offer to shake hands, but opted against it for whatever reason. So, to be polite, I raised my hand and offered to shake hands myself. "Hi, Donte. It's nice to see you again." I smiled the way I usually do as a kind gesture.

He shook my hand with a strong grip. (Dually noted.) "It's nice to see you, too, Mrs. Ride. It's been a while." His bright smile was almost dazzling, and his kind was seemed as though he wasn't in a rock band.

I smiled. "Please call me Max. And yes, it has been way too long. In fact…" I glanced at Fang, but directed my words to Malec. "You and your band friends should come over this weekend for Felicity's birthday celebration." Fangs face didn't falter, but I noted his eyes turn hard, saying "You did that on purpose."

Malec raised his brows, a little surprised. "Really? I thought it was a family only celebration?"

I shrugged. "There's always room for a little change in plans."

Donte then shifted his gaze from me to Fang, who busied himself with staring blankly at the poor guy. I nudged him and motioned to Donte. Fang sighed. "Nice to see you, Donte."

I smiled in victory. "Much better," I said as we stared walking to our first destination: Aeropostale.

Ugh.

So, two – almost three – hours of shopping and listening to Felicity so 'yes' and 'no' to any and all things we asked if she liked was long enough for me. We decided to go for a lunch break.

"Mom, can I get Taco Bell?" Felicity asked, already looking at the menu.

I fished for $15 in my pant pocket. "Keep it under $10, if at all possible," I said, handing over the cash and watching her hurry over there, dragging Vanessa behind her.

"We're going to grab some pretzels," Malec informed me, him and Donte turning and heading the opposite direction.

"Okay. Come back here when you're done!" I called after them. Then I said to Fang, "Where do they get their energy?"

That hint of a smile appeared on his face. "Faye."

I laughed and grabbed his hand. "Smart ass."

For those of you who don't already know, our daughter Faye has the ability to…well, power other abilities. She can draw energy from electrical vibrations around her and use it as a kind of adrenaline for everyone else. Her and Malec can literally cancel each other out. Sadly, though, this drains from her own energy because she isn't as practiced with it yet. She is only seven-years-old, after all.

"My ass is smart," he said slyly.

I rolled my eyes now. "Now I know who those love notes were to." On the outside, I was calm; but on the inside I was screaming "HELL YEAH! SCORE ONE FOR MAX!"

Nothing else was said after that. (I won, FYI.) We listened to the hum of the passing people, whispering, "Look! It's them." And: "Wow. Are those really their kids?" And we can't forget my favorite: "What on earth are they doing here. There should be segregation about where and what they do." You get used to that stupid stuff after a while.

But, you heard it right, folks. Some people can't stand the idea of us living amongst them. It's almost like they want to put us back in cages. You'd think they'd appreciate the kind service we did them by of saving their future generations from Itex. Whatever. We tend to ignore and avoid people like them, and vise versa.

The kids came back and we ate a small meal – though it probably looked to Donte like it was a three-course meal. Due to the tension vibrating off Fang and my own self-pity of not wanting to be here at all, I decided to attempt small talk. The kids decided to take this opportunity to sit away from us and picked a table that'd seat four; of course Fang and I sat near by at a small round table. Felicity and Vanessa sat next to each other, Malec and Donte across from them. They were talking quietly amongst themselves, all oof them laughing every once and a while. I smiled. It was nice to see a strong friendship with someone who didn't have wings glued to their back.

Fang made a quick exit to the bathroom, saying he'd be right back. So I took the opportunity to walk up to their table and place a hand on Donte and Malec's chairs. "So, Malec." His gazed shifted to me over his shoulder, but he stayed silent. "Do you have a better idea of what you are getting your sister for her birthday?"

Felicity's head shot up like a deer caught in headlights, suddenly interested in the conversation. Malec and Donte exchanged glances, much like Iggy and Fang would when they had an evil plan up their sleeves. "I think so," he said with a hint of a smile, and he was so sweet about it, almost making it a cute moment. "_If_ I think she deserves it," he finished, flashing his sister a knowing look. Cute moment over.

Felicity rolled her dark brown eyes. "Whatever."

I smiled, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. "And what about you, Vanessa? See anything 'Felicity worthy'?"

She shrugged, taking the last bite of her taco. "I guess. But I have to wait till dad get's the payment from the bakery tomorrow to get anything."

I raised a brow, though it was wasted. "Why do you say that?"

Her eyes found my face, though her gaze didn't quite meet my eyes. The look on her face was one her father used to always give me, and I couldn't decide it that fact annoyed me and made me feel all warm inside. (Most likely annoyed.) "How else and I supposed to get money?"

With that, the kids laughed, Felicity barely turning in time to spit soda from laughter. Vanessa smirked triumphantly at her comment, her ears twitching at the sound of her friends laughing.

When the laughing finally died down, I could tell you how surprised I was when Donte spoke up for the first time since our greeting. "I know what I'm getting her."

"Dude…!" Malec immediately followed up with a quick slap on the shoulder, giving everyone a quick glance. And of course we all stopped what we were doing, making the moment that much more awkward. Fang grew even tenser, if that was possible. Felicity looked up at the boy like she couldn't believe that he has actually said that. Vanessa was being unusually quiet when it came to teasing Felicity.

This ought to be good.

"And…what's that?" I pried, not quite sure yet if I even wanted to know.

With a very quick glance at Malec – so fast I almost didn't catch it – he said, "Well, nothing special. Just, like a card…or something."

I nodded, the tension leaking out of me like a watering can. "Ah. Well, that's very thoughtful. And you know you don't have to. All of Felicity's friends know they aren't entitled to getting her anything."

He shrugged, pushing what was left of his food away. "Yeah, she mentioned that, but a card is, like, $3 for semi-cheap." Malec looked almost relieved that the conversation seemed to take a turn. Hmm…

"True," I admitted, keeping my suspicions at bay.

"Can we go?" Fang whispered low in my ear, suddenly appearing behind me. I swear I saw Donte's ear perk up, like he heard what Fang said, but dismissed it when I realized Malec was now talking to him. I nodded to Fang.

"Okay, guys!" I announced, standing from my chair. "Let's take Donte home and then we can head back and get ready for school tomorrow."

The girls groaned in annoyance. I smiled. "Sorry girls, but you will have to face that big test at some point." They pretty much ignored me, which was expected.

"Um…you guys don't need to worry about taking me home," Donte said as he got up to throw his trash away along with the others. "I got a ride on its way."

"Oh, okay." I looked at Malec. "Well, you guys go ahead and we will meet you out back." Malec nodded. We all said our good-byes to Donte and started out our separate ways.

"There's something off about him," Fang notes, whispering again as Malec and the girls can't hear him.

I nodded in agreement. "Background check?"

This time Fang nodded, but you probably already saw that one coming a mile away, considering who we're talking about here. "I'll get Nudge to help."

It didn't take Malec long to meet up with us. Felicity was practically bouncing on her heels while we were waiting, like she was impatient. I looked at her, noting how nervous she looked. "What's the matter, daughter?" I asked in that mocking tone she hated. "Need to study for a test you more or may not get in trouble for if you don't?"

She looked at me and gave a kind of nervous smile. "Uh…yes. Kinda." She laughed nervously and went back to bouncing on her heels.

I sighed heavily. _I save the world and my hard work results in a procrastinating daughter. Lovely_.

One the other hand, I was right about one thing: this really was a very interesting day, despite the mental toll it seemed to take on me. I will choose to ignore that, however, because I don't want to ruin the surprisingly good mood it put me in.

Max – 1

Inner Turmoil – Zip

**:::**

**Well, that's the next chapter. I didn't think it was anything special, but I thought it was 'okay'. I mean, there was nothing to spice it up, but that's coming next, so no worries. (: **

**Well, no special exit or cliff hangers. But I will say that things may start to get confusing. That's okay! It's meant to be that way because the characters (meaning Fang, Max and the others) are confused as well.**

**Anyway…**

**Thanks For Reading! R&R**

**-Aly**


	7. C6: Rough Mornings and Losing Control

**PLEASE READ!**

**Hey, People! Sorry it's been about a week since I last updated, but I was clearing up work issues and getting school essays turned in somewhat on time, haha. (Nah, I get them in, they are just half-assed, because I have MAJOR Senior-itis…) **

**Anyway, I thought this chapter was…lacking, in a way. I thought it needed a little something, but I wasn't sure what it was so I didn't like this one very much. By the way, when I was writing and editing this, I had to stop in the middle of a paragraph a couple of times and lost track of where I was. So, if something doesn't make sense, PLEASE point it out! **

**Thanks a lot!**

**Let's read. **

**Future History**

Chapter Six: Rough Mornings and Losing Control

**Fang's POV **

Girl drama: never get involved with it.

That is very possibly the number one most important rule a guy could follow in life; especially when the guy-to-girl ratio is very poor.

That was the first thing I learned after marrying Max and watching the other members of the Flock get married. As more woman came into the picture, more drama seemed to follow. And to pour salt into a wound, seventy-five percent of our kids are girls. Will I even get a break?

So, whenever Max goes on a rant about "The Girls at Work", or how Faye was pushed by some girl-bully on the playground, I tend to turn my hearing to 'mute' and pretend I was listening. What husband doesn't do that every once and a while? However, when I came to Felicity's interest in boys, I keep my hearing up to the highest 'volume'.

Currently, Max and the kids were eating their breakfast and drinking their orange juice when I came down the stairs. Gazing at my wife, I noticed she was in her usual work dress – grey slacks, matching jacket and white dress shirt – but she wasn't aware of the fact that one of her top buttons on the shirt was…well, not buttoned. Okay, I wasn't gawking or drooling or anything like that (not in front of the kids), but it was something that caught my eye. In fact, I was so distracted by what Max was wearing, it actually took me a minute to realize she was talking to me.

"Fang? Did you hear anything I just said?" Max asked, looking slightly annoyed.

I looked up at her. "Yes." A complete lie, but she didn't need to know that.

She rolled her eyes, fixed herself some coffee then handed me mine. "You can't seriously think I don't notice when you tune me out. The way you pretend to listen to what I'm saying." She laughed a little to herself and slowly took a sip of her coffee. "You can't imagine the stuff you agree to when you don't even hear what I'm saying."

That was immediately followed up by a collective "Ooo!" from my kids, each of them laughing, though Faye seemed to be just following the crowd. I glared at Max, even with her back to me as she sat at the island with the kids. She felt my eyes on her and turned in her seat, an annoyingly smug look on her face.

The kids saw this moment as a good time to get ready for school. I cautiously took a sip of my coffee – Max may actually be poisoning me to make me tell the truth! No one knows with her – and asked, "Exactly what kind of questions are you making me say yes to?"

She smirked. "I never _made_ you say yes to anything, dear. You answered to all those questions on your own." I gave her a look that said, 'Answer the question or suffer.' But she was unfazed and just rolled her eyes. "Let's just say they are answers that Iggy could never let you live down for as long as you live."

_That bad, huh?_ I thought to myself. I rolled my eyes and pored myself some cereal and we ate in silence, occasionally hearing a thumb from upstairs and an "I'm okay!" being called down the stairs from Faye. She placed her now empty cup in the sink and walked toward the stairs. "Let's go! Don't want to be late for school!" she called to the kids.

"We're coming, Mommy!" Faye called.

Moments later, three kids ran down the twisting flight of stairs. Faye, being the speed-demon that she is, shot past Malec and (of course) tripped, her brother catching her by the arm in time before her face had an unhealthy greeting with the floor. Believe it or not, this happens on a regular basis.

Faye wore her favorite orange, top and a frilly-looking, green skirt. Her dirty blonde hair pulled into two pig-tails that I'm sure felicity helped her with. It almost seems that the older she gets, they more she reminds me of how Angel used to dress. Max and I haven't talked about Angel for almost ten years – none of us have. We've all missed her terribly, and I find myself wondering where she could be right now.

Malec was wearing his usual dark jeans – or in this case, black cargo pants due to the warm weather – and a grey t-shirt with a 'Monster' symbol on the shoulder. He wore black Addida's sandals. I also noticed he actually takes the time to do his hair and make it look some-what decent in the morning. Still no color, but I don't think I'd wear the light grey shirt.

Everything was fine-and-dandy… until I saw what Felicity was wearing. It was almost like a slap in the face. Max and I raised our kids in a more stable environment – let alone a more stable condition – than we were raised in. So, why in God's name was my eldest daughter wearing jeans that were ripped in the shins, knees and – Heaven forbid – thighs? The top she had chosen for the day was also to my disliking: a powder blue tank-top underneath a white, lace shirt of some kind. Her hair was straight and flowed past her shoulders. At least there was no make-up.

As the kids filed past us and heading for the door, I stopped Felicity by the arm. "Go change. Now." My voice was threatening, but it was as tense.

She looked taken aback. "What? Why?"

I didn't say anything – just stared her down.

She glanced at Max. "But Mom said I could wear this today!"

I still said nothing, the look on my face saying it all.

"Fang," Max started, "I did say she could wear that today. Why don't we-" I looked at her, letting her feel the anger that very nearly radiated off of me. She closed her mouth, choosing to let me handle it.

That's when Felicity yanked her arm out of my drip. "Fine. Have it your way." She stormed of the stairs, making sure we heard every step. No one said anything when she came down in jeans – the normal kind – a white t-shirt and a grey hoodie. When she got to the bottom of the stairs, she did a three-sixty degree turn. "Is this more to your liking, _father_?" She said the word 'father' like it burned her tongue.

"Felicity!" Max scolded, but she just brushed past us roughly and followed her brother and sister into the sighed and looked at me almost angrily. "That wasn't necessary. I'll calm her down but you both owe each other an apology." She kissed me quick on the cheek and left the house with the kids. Now it was just a matter of time before Iggy came over and we go off to our work meeting scheduled for this afternoon.

Yes, we all have jobs. Eventually, the government warmed up to our existence and allowed us to function somewhat normally in society. Max was a Lawyer and a pretty damn good one at that – she always had a knack for bring the truth out of people. Nudge was a fashion designer, although that should have been a given. Thank God she didn't put her own name in the title of her clothing – she was going to call it 'Nudge –olicious'. As of now, Jack is a stay at home dad, but he's on the hunt for a good job. (Turns out living on an island makes it that much more difficult to get to and from the work place.) Gazzy got a job as a toy designer – and we are talking about the toys and games that kids play with, people! Ella is pre-school teacher, which would explain why she's so great with kids. Iggy has his own small, corner-store restaurant. He's even expanding his experience into pastries. I work at the fire department in town. Why? Well I have the ability to control fire, so… yeah, put two-and-two together.

Having nothing better to do while waiting for Iggy to come over for our 'hang-out' day, I took it upon myself to shower. Once dressed for the day, I wondered back down stairs to the kitchen. I filled up my coffee cup again and noticed one of felicity's school books left on the counter. I sighed, coming to a quick decision of making a quick trip to the school. I hunted down my phone and called Iggy. It took him a few seconds to answer, but he sounded like he and just woken up when he answered. "Hey, Fang. What's up?" He sounded groggy.

I smirked lightly to myself. "Let me guess: you forgot you were coming over today and slept in."

There was a pause; I could hear him rolling out of bed when he said, "No, man. I'm getting ready as we…uh, speak…" He sounded confused and slightly frustrated. My guess is he forgot where Ella moved the dresser.

I smirked. "You can't find your dresser again, can you?"

"Shut up. I'll leave soon." Cue the sense of more frustration. I could almost imagine the face he was making right now.

"That's why I called; you can take your time getting ready. I have to run one of Felicity's books to her school. I shouldn't be too long, but I'll leave the back door unlocked for you."

"Oh, that's good. Leave the door that I can _never find_ unlocked!" He groaned. "Thanks, man." Suddenly, he grunted and swore under his breath.

I smirked. "Found the dresser, huh?"

He groaned, his breathing sounding labored. "In…the most unpleasant way possible for a man…"

I chuckled. "Ouch. Anyway, I'll see you when I get back. Try not to eat all the food; Max wasn't a happy camper the last time you came over without supervision, and I was the one to deal with her wrath."

I could hear the humor in his voice when he spoke next. "No promises. I'll catch you later."

"Yeah, bye." The line died and I stored the cellular device in my back pocket. I snatched the book from the island and made a beeline for the front door, not quite sure if Iggy was serious about his threat to eat all our food or not.

It didn't take me long to get to the school. Granted, I'm nowhere near as fast as Max (for obvious reasons), but because I built up wing muscle over the years I was faster than, say, my kids. So, you could say, I got there in record time. Anyway, I walked up to the doors, of course attracting attention from people walking by – I swear I will never get used to that. But I ignored them and made my way to the front office, opened the door and was immediately greeted by the secretary there – I think her name was Carol.

"Welcome back, Mr. Ride!" she greeted kindly, her red hair falling neatly over her shoulders. "I haven't seen you around here lately. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Oh, dear Lord… If Max witnessed any of this…it would probably just be one big blood bath. Yes, I notice now when girls are flirting. No, I have no control over it. And no, I don't know how to avoid it. Max claims girls who "have the hots for me" follow me like the plague. What was with this attraction of red heads? I thought maybe after my encounter with Lissa and Bridget back in the day that I wouldn't have this problem anymore. I was sadly mistaken.

I nodded in greeting. "My daughter left her book at home and I wanted to return it to her. Just let her know that it's here – I have other places to be today."

Carol nodded, smiling sweetly. "Of course!" She had to of been around 25-years-old, but she looked almost younger that, her skin free of blemishes. She was really pretty – don't tell Max I said that unless you want me to die a slow painful death – and she wasn't flirting to the point that it was extremely noticeable. It was just casual talk. I think.

Then there was an annoying buzzing noise. I took everything in me not to jump in the air with surprise.

"Oh! Well, that's the bell for second period now." She walked to her desk and picked up her phone. "I'll just call her down and let her know."

I nodded in thanks and walked out. "Have a nice day!" she called after me. I waved my hand as I parted from the office. Seconds later, I hear her over the inner-com: _"Felicity Ride, please pick up your history book in the office. Felicity Ride, your history book is waiting for you in the office. That's all."_

As I back-tracked through the halls, I noticed one girl in particular tilt her head to listen to the announcement. I didn't think anything of it – it was just a quick glance as I approached a group of girls. Then, I did a double take; this girl looks very familiar. As she turned and walked toward me, I saw who it was.

Felicity.

There was one thing, however, that bothered me. And it wasn't just a small thing that I couldn't have noticed, it was something a little more than that. She was wearing the _exact_ clothes I told her not to wear this morning.

Her eyes found mine, and I saw her smile completely fall to an 'oh, crap' expression. I felt my composure slip, as well; from calm and unreadable to betrayal and seriously angry.

She stopped in her tracks and was about to turn around to head the other direction, but my voice stopped her.

"Felicity!" My voice echoed the halls – I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't intending it to be quite that loud. Sometimes you just can't avoid it though. A look of horror struck her face as everyone in the hall stopped and stared. I didn't care, approaching her calmly. She stared straight ahead as I placed a gentle – yet firm – hand on her back. "Come with me, young lady. You have some explaining to do," I whispered to her at a level that only she could hear. She obeyed and we both walked down the hall and out the front doors, everyone parting to let us through.

It's safe to say that the fly back to the house was quiet. She was the first to touch down on the porch, blasting through the front door. _Here we go,_ I though, _Max's temper tantrum._

"I can't believe you did that to me!" she all but yelled after throwing what books she had in her arms as we left onto the couch where I noticed Iggy sat. A strange yet startled look crossed his face, but I ignored him.

"Felicity, you disobeyed what I asked of you this morning and went behind my back." I tried to stay calm, but ever since I gained the fire ability, it's become increasingly harder to control the flame.

"That doesn't mean you had to storm into my school and completely embarrass me like that," she countered, stomping around the kitchen looking for something to distract herself; something I seemed to find myself doing from time to time. "I had the clothes with me – I could have just changed," she grumbled.

"Or you could have just not worn that behind my back," I stated, a headache forming.

She groaned in response.

"I was dropping off your book," I tried to explain. "I had no intention of looking for you specifically. I just happened to catch some familiar and completely unacceptable 'dress code' out of the corner of my eye." I kicked off my shoes and stood in front of the door, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Well, I didn't even need it today." Her voice grew louder as she continued to walk around the house. "That's why I left it on the counter this morning. I didn't want to carry it all the way to school."

"Felicity, please stop walking around the house like that," I asked calmly (surprisingly). "Come here and talk to me."

She suddenly appeared from around the corner, hands on her hips. "Okay, let's talk about how I am _not_ showing my face at school tomorrow. Not until this blows over."

I slouched against the wall dividing the living room and foyer. "Please do not raise your voice, Felicity. I have a headache as it is."

She is her mother's daughter, so it's not like she took my warning seriously. "You have a headache? My head hurts just thinking about what will happen to me at school." It was weird because she never acts like this – ever. It got me thinking: what's got her all hyped up lately.

This is what I didn't understand. Me, Max, Nudge, Iggy, and Gazzy never actually got a taste of what it's like to be in high school, so it was almost like she was speaking a foreign language. And for some reason it was pissing me off that much more.

"Felicity, I'm going to ask you one more time to stop raising your voice, or-"

It was weird because she never acts like this – ever. It got me thinking: what's got her all hyped up lately. She interrupted me, "Or what, Dad? Going to stalk me at school?"

That did it; I couldn't hold it back anymore. With every force in my body, I lunged forward, faster than I ever have when training with any of the kids. I was in front of her and spun her around, nearly slamming her into the wall, before she even know what was happening. She shook her head, seeming disoriented. My mind was blazing, not able to think straight.

"You will listen or, so help me, I will ground you for a month, and you will go nowhere!" My volume of my voice scared even me, but the look on my daughters face was… I can't describe it. I sounded unnatural and menacing. All I know is I never thought she – or any of my kids – would make that face due to my actions.

Mere second later, I felt two strong hands on my shoulders, ripping me away from Felicity and throw me back down the hall. I scrambled to me feet, seeing Iggy stand protectively between me and her. The combination of calm in his sightless eyes and set jaw told me to take a breather before I do something I will surely regret.

As my breathing slowed (my heart was still pounding from nearly letting the 'beast' our of its cage), I dragged my eyes from Iggy to Felicity. Terror, confusion, and several other emotions crossed her face, her mouth opening and closing like she was going to say something but no words came out. Her eyes met mine for a fraction of a second before she burst from the place she was frozen to still against the wall, and was out the back door.

"Felicity-" I took a step toward her, Iggy moving a step toward me as I did, but she was already gone.

"Take it easy, man," Iggy said sternly. "You are in no condition to go after her just yet. Give her some time to sort it out, and then we'll _both_ go talk to her." It was clear that when he said it like that, it meant he didn't quite trust my control yet. And, honestly, neither do I.

I wanted to argue – he knew I did, too – but he was right. I couldn't go near her until I put that flame out.

I put my hands up to signal defense, and said, "Okay, Iggy. You're right. I'm just going to the living room."

I took slow steps in that direction, his ears tilting to listen for my steps. I sat on the couch, Iggy sitting next me, his feet already on the coffee table. "So, I think I caught just about everything that happened," he said after a few minute of pure silence. His sightless eyes moved to me. "Anything else I should know?"

I shook my head. "Not really. Just that I'm the worst Avian-freak-father ever in the history of Avian-freak-fathers."

This made him laugh. "And we all know how rare they are."

"That's why it's such an insult." I sighed. "I just… can't believe I did that, man. It was like I wasn't me anymore, like that damn flame took over my body, even for just a split second."

He nodded after taking in everything I said. "Then you need to me more careful. Kids are meant to push your buttons; it's how they learn to grow and learn their boundaries."

I raised a brow. "Since when are you the therapist about parenting? That's usually Dr. M's job."

He shrugged, his trademark grin on his face. "I read 'Parenting For Dummies'."

I almost laughed. Almost.

We were quiet for another minute, and another thought crossed my mind. Now, as I'm sure you all know, I'm not one to show off my feelings, but after today, I think it's better I express them at the right time rather than let them pour out at the wrong time. "Do you think she'll ever forgive me?"

"I'm sure some day she will. But you definitely have to give her some time."

I sighed. "Yeah, I guess. I just don't want this to be like when Max would run off and be a completely different person. I don't know how much more of that I can take before I completely fall apart."

"I gotchya, buddy. But let's just wait and see."

"Yeah, but what-" That's when the worst possible think could erupt into the air: Felicity's shrill scream.

Iggy and I were on our feet, out the back door Felicity used as an exit to escape my presence, and into the suddenly windy air before any other human could blink. As soon as I felt the sun peak through the tops of the trees and hit me face, I pumped my wings and beat against the wind.

"Tactic 41?" Iggy questioned, keeping good pace with me.

I nodded. "I'm counting on you, Iggy."

"Good luck. Stay safe, man." He held his fist out.

"Good luck." I stacked my fist on his, and I realized in that moment that we hadn't done this since we were kids on the run for our lives. Kind of makes you think what will happen next.

With that, he dove into the trees and I poured the speed on, desperate to make it to my daughter in time, already fearing the worst.

**:::**

**So, what do you think? Good? Bad? **

**Honestly, I think I nailed how Fang hides his emotions, but I purposely making him talk a lot because that 'monster', 'beast', or 'inner power' – whatever you want to call it – that comes with his fire ability (as well as Max's water ability) has a major impact of how they talk, think, and move. It's like a second personality. Later on, Max will lose her self control due to the power the 'monster' has over her. It's more detailed then that but I think you guys get the gist of it.**

**Anyway…**

**Thanks For Reading! R&R**

**-Aly**


	8. C7: Life At School

**Future History**

Chapter Seven: Life At School

**Donte POV**

It's just another Monday. At least, that's what I kept telling myself as this uneasy feeling set into me on my way to school. Mostly, I was looking forward to seeing Felicity. As cliché as this is going to sound, it's true: I feel very comfortable around her, like I can be myself and not be judged. I knew I could trust her the moment her and Malec found out about my secret.

_Flash Back…_

_It was freshmen year and the school was holding their yearly talent show concert. Donte looked out into the crowd from stage left, every nerve in his body vibrating with fear and anxiety. He wasn't sure if he wanted to do more: jump with excitement or vomit from stage fright. There was, however, one thing – or rather person – that calmed most of his nerves. _

_Felicity, even only an 8__th__ grader in Middle School, helped the band as a whole get through their performances. When they practiced at the school every afternoon, she would go to the vending machines and buy us our favorite drinks. It was funny how she acted as band manager; some people thought it was weird, but, as they say, "The proof is in the pudding"._

_Malec's parents never attended their practice sessions or smaller gigs at the pizza parlor in town, but for events like this they sucked up their fear of crowds to see them play. They never told him much about their life at his age, but he couldn't help but wonder how different it could really be. _

"_Fifteen minutes everybody!" Felicity called, coming around the corner with their drinks. _

_Something in Donte was about to break, like he was literally going to fall apart._

"_Awe, thanks a lot, Felicity," Andy, or Andréa, said sweetly, though her own nerves work still pretty worked up. Tonight, she was playing bass, seeing as though they didn't need a lead female singer for the song they were playing._

_Felicity distributed the drinks, wishing each of them good luck. _

_Emmett took his energy drink almost too happily. "I was waiting all day for this!" He tilted the drink back and took two long gulps. He is their only drummer, which always seems to help his anger issues._

_Chevelle rolled her eyes. "For what exactly? The concert or that drink you are treating as your life line?" She was only on key board tonight, seeing as though they didn't need any female back-up singing._

"_Let's just do good tonight, guys," Malec stated simply. "Remember, they are actually offering a prize to the best talent; that's $500 that could go toward new equipment."_

_Andy nodded in approval. "That may not get everyone new equipment, but it's a good start."_

"_Hey," Felicity cut in, "where'd Donte go?"_

_Malec noticed the door that led to the back hallway swing closed. "I'll go get him," he said, setting down his drink._

_Felicity followed closely behind. Outside the doors, his unopened drink lay in the middle of the floor. Cautiously, like it might burst open at any second, she picked it up. "Where did he go?" she asked again, wondering to herself if he had actually abandoned them. _

_Then a _bang_ came from the bathroom. Felicity was hesitant, seeing as though it was the boy's bathroom, but Malec was quick to jump toward the door. Inside, was Donte kneeling on the floor, and what they saw around him was astonishing and almost unbelievable. _

_Slowly, she reached out a hand – the one not holding his forgotten drink. "D-Donte…?"_

_End Flashback…_

I shook my head, not wanting to remember the scared look on that sweet girls face. To this day, I am still ashamed that I was what caused her to make that face, and I vowed to never let it happen again.

The wind suddenly picked up and blew more forcefully, attacking my hair, face, and clothes, almost like it responded to my thoughts. I stopped on the side walk, a few yards from school grounds, letting it cascade around me and through me as I breathed in its fresh scent.

Feeling more relaxed, I ignored the gut feeling of danger looming and pressed on toward school. The first thing I noticed was Felicity's mom dropping her and Malec off at school – nothing new there. When she saw me approaching, she flashed a warm, welcoming smile that I could tell if it was real of fake.

"Good morning, Donte."

I smiled and waved slightly. "Morning, Mrs. Ri – er…uh, Max." I felt weird addressing her that way, but I got the feeling that if I didn't she'd like me less if I didn't do as she asked.

"Did you talk to you parents about my offer to come to Felicity's party?" she asked, and I felt my smile physically slip from my face.

"Mom…!" Felicity said warningly. While Max's attention was draw to Felicity in question, Malec flashed me a quick look of concern, but I was quick to respond before the situation turned to questioning me further, turning the smile to my face.

"It's okay," I said to Felicity and Malec, then to their mom; "I did ask and she said that was fine. She also asked if she could cook anything – like a snack or desert. If that was okay with you."

She waved her hand as if to dismiss the idea. "Tell her that's not necessary, but she can if she really wants to."

I nodded. "I'll pass the message along."

We waved her good-bye as she strode toward the back of the school, where she was likely to attract less attention.

Then the attention was on me.

"Donte, why didn't you just-" Felicity started, but I interrupted her.

"It would have been an awkward situation to explain how much my parents play a role in my life." I shrugged as we started up the steps to the school. "Besides, I wasn't completely lying – what's a little white lie every once and a while?"

Malec chose to jump in at this point. "Mom's an expert at picking out 'little white lies'. I'd advise you to be careful."

"We've literally met, like three times of our 6 year friendship. I don't think she knows me well enough."

"Maybe not you, but she knows how to get information from us," he said, gesturing to himself then Felicity.

I nodded lightly. "Good point."

"But you're okay though?" Felicity asked, placing a comforting hand on my arm.

I smiled at her, loving the caring side of her that seemed to show only around me. "Yup."

Malec and I dropped felicity off at her locker then headed for ours – we were lucky enough to have lockers right next to each other. As I turned the combination into the lock, Julianna Racer waltzed over, slinging her arm through mine, unwelcomingly attaching herself to my hip. Her equally annoying posy taking root near Malec, the both of us sharing annoyed glances.

"Hey, Donte, baby!" Julianna announced way too loud in a way too annoying voice. She was wearing an outfit that would her gotten her killed in a big city like Detroit where they fed off of girls that wear the things she does.

"Hey, Julianna. Kinda busy." I all by ripped my arm from hers in order to reach my book for first period: English.

"I see that…" she said in a ridiculing voice as I pretended to search through my locker. God she was so annoying. First she acted like she owned the school, then decided she'd pretend to own something else: me. What she didn't get is I wasn't the slightest bit interested, I got the hint that she wasn't going to give up trying. "So, Donte, darling. What are you doing after school today?" she asked, suddenly excited about something.

Not looking at her, I said, "Well, today is Monday so that means band practice and homework when I get home. So, a lot, actually. My schedule's booked." I finally faced her, having everything I needed to get the hell out of there.

Her face fell slightly. "But, you have band practice every day – even on the weekends."

I couldn't stop the smile that crept on my face. "Well, shit happens." I noticed her posy had retreated to stand behind her, which meant Malec had slipped away and more than likely waiting for me around the hall-corner. "I'll talk to you later, Julianna." I waved her off, before she could say anything else, making it a point by ignoring her calling my name as a turned the corner. Sure enough, there was Malec, leaning against the wall by the bathrooms.

His head perked up when I rounded the corner. "How'd it go?" he asked with a smirk, knowing very well what my answer was.

I shook my head in dismay. "It was pure hell. Thanks for throwing me into the Lionesses den. I could feel her eyes all over me." I shuddered violently.

He chuckled as we made our way to the band room, where I was positive Andy was waiting for us. Knowing her, she probably already started the band meeting we had scheduled for this morning. Andy – or Andrea – was still our lead female singer. In fact, everyone else was still in the band, too. We were like a close knit family. And for more than just the fact that we've al been friends since the 7th grade.

"Hey, guys!" Andy greeted us, having just finished pulling her very long dirty blonde hair into a high pony. "You're late."

Behind her were Emmett and Chevelle, arm wrestling. As Emmett looked at us and waved, Chevelle took the opportunity to slam his hand down on the table, announcing her victory.

"Damn it!" Emmett cursed, standing abruptly. "You cheated!" He pointed at Chevelle who was brushing imaginary dust off her shoulders.

"What's done is done, big guy," she said smoothly, smirking.

Chevelle was part Indian, so her skin practically absorbed any kind of sun light, turning her skin to an olive color. She stood at about 5'7", and her hair was a dark brown, her eyes the same. The only thing on her that stood out was the neon pink, orange, and green highlights placed randomly in her long brown hair.

Emmett was known as our 'Muscle-Head Wonder'. He was about 6'1", standing about three to four inches taller and Malec and I. He had tousled dirty blonde hair and pale blue eyes. He was also recently voted off the wrestling team because the coach's son didn't like the fact that he was stronger. That should just about sum up the fact that he was very well build, and could match even Malec's super-human strength.

"Five bucks says they will be calling a rematch by the end of today," Andy whispered to us, chuckling her herself.

Malec chuckled, too, which wasn't uncommon – he would laugh if she burped. That's just the kind of 'relationship' they were in. I say it like that because the both of them are in complete denial about their feelings for each other. Or, at least, that's how it seemed. I remember felicity telling me about Andy and Malec kissing before her rehearsal with us a couple weeks ago. All I had to say was: wow.

Andy has dirty blonde hair with dark brown streaks in random places – I think she called them 'lowlights', or something like that. According to Malec, it looked really cool when she moved around on stage. She stood at about the same height as Chevelle, and had dark green eyes.

Once we got on with the band meeting, everyone was quiet because they knew as well as I did that we didn't have songs to play at tomorrow's gig. Once decided on the songs, Emmett presented his usual rant about why we should have costumes as a 'dress code'. We all promptly shot his idea down – again. Before we knew it, we ran out of things to talk about, and went our separate ways to class with nearly 10 minutes to spare. We decided to find Felicity and hang out in the halls.

Felicity's first period was Choir with Andy, ironically enough. So, we wondered down the Arts hallway/wing until I spotted her talking to Vanessa and Andy. The only thing that was noticeably different was her clothes. She was wearing a fitting pear of slightly ripped skinny jeans, flats on her feet. Her top was a powder blue tank top with a completely lace shirt-type…thing. Hell, I didn't have to know what it was called. All that mattered was that it made her look…amazing.

"Hey! Look who I bumped into!" Andy announced, throwing her arm around Felicity.

"You said you were looking for me because you had time to kill," Felicity grumbled. "I don't think that qualifies as 'bumping into me'."

"At least she didn't actually _step on you_," Vanessa said angrily. "She's obviously more blind than I am, seeing as though she can't see someone standing in front of her and I can."

Felicity laughed. "Vanessa, that's so cruel!"

Malec's face went hard as he took in Felicity's appearance. "Dad told you not to wear that."

She shrugged, the laughter from her features gone. "And what Dad don't know won't hurt him. Besides, Andy already said the style suits me." She smiled and I was almost like looking straight at the sun; it was so bright!

I guess that's when Malec and the others noticed I was taking in Felicity's appearance a little too long without saying anything, because he nudged me, hard, nearly knocking me off balance. Malec was almost glaring at me, his brow cocked in a questioning way. Felicity was blushing lightly, suddenly feeling self-conscious under my gaze and had to fit her top. Andy, on the other hand, burst out laughing, causing students to look over.

I flashed at innocent look over to Malec, who just shook his head and said, "What am I gunna do with you, man?" And I could tell it was a rhetorical question.

"Seriously, Donte! You were looking at her like a piece of meat!" Andy commented a little too loudly.

I kept my composure under control, not dropping any hints is to what was running through my mind. "I'm a vegetarian, Andy."

"So? Don't try to ruin the perfect metaphor." She put her hands on her hips. "And when did you become a vegetarian?"

I sighed. "Since always, Andy. How can you not remember that?" I thought about it for a moment. "Though, I do eat the occasional seafood."

"What? How the hell can you call yourself a vegetarian and eat seafood? It doesn't make sense! Fish are animals, too, you know!"

"Andy, do you have short-term memory loss?" I asked, slightly frizzed by the fact that she couldn't remember what I told everyone years ago. "Doesn't this very conversation sound at all familiar to you?"

She put her finger on her lip, seriously taking it into consideration. "Well, not that you mention it, it does."

Can we say 'face palm'?

"Okay, before this gets any more annoying," Vanessa interrupted, shifting her wait from her left foot to right, clearly impatient, "can someone take me to class so I'm not late again? Mr. Kennigen doesn't take my blindness lightly and expects way too much from me."

Felicity laughed – music to my ears – and snacked her arm around Vanessa's. "Gee, Vanessa,  
she said sarcastically, "could that be because you are lazy when it comes to your work effort and don't know what's written on the board half the time?"

"Exactly. So half the time it's not my fault."

Felicity rolled her eyes. "Rolling my eyes, Vanessa." She waved us good-bye, looking eyes with me a few seconds longer than anyone else before turning and leading Vanessa down the hall.

Malec and I were left to walk to class alone, seeing as though Andy decided to tag along with the girls. It was silent the whole way to our first period classroom, where we were immediately greeted by out English teacher, Mr. Sharrow. He was a tall, pretty well-built man, his face shaved smooth and hair spiked lightly with a gel product.

"Boys! There you are," he said, shuffling through his papers, a frustrated look on his face. "Well, I did have you papers somewhere…" Eventually he gave up and looked back up at us. "I guess I can look for them and give them to you at the end of class. Don't let me forget." We both nodded as the bell for class to begin rang loud throughout the school. "Please take your seats."

Once seated, Mr. Sharrow used his booming voice to keep our attention on his lecture, randomly calling on people to read off the board. We were re-reading Shakespeare's plays, so I reverted my eyes outside, letting my mind wonder. A few minutes of that was clearly enough, because Mr. Sharrow suddenly called out my name.

"Mr. Ridder!" I snapped my head to attention, meeting the teacher's eyes. "Will you please recite the famous poem from Shakespeare's popular play: Macbeth?"

It took me a second to register in my brain what he wanted. Once my brain was back from that mini vacation while staring out the window, I opened my mouth and let the words from memory flow effortlessly from my lips:

"_She should have died hereafter_

_There would have been a time for such a word._

_Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow_

_Creeps on this petty pace from day to day,_

_To the last syllable of recorded time,_

_For all our yesterdays have _

_Lighted fools the way to dusty dead._

_Out, out brief candle!_

_Life's but a walking shadow;_

_A poor player that struts and frets _

_His hour upon the stage_

_And then is heard no more._

_It is a tale told by an idiot,_

_Full of sound and fury,_

_Signifying nothing."_

The room was quiet from the time that I started to the end – you could hear a pin drop. Clearly, just from the shock written in his eyes, Mr. Sharrow had not expected me to be able to nail it perfectly, but still he smiled wide and nodded his head in approval. "Good, Good! Now," he directed to the rest of the class, "can anyone else keep up with Mr. Ridder's advanced memory and tell me what Shakespeare is talking about?"

I saw Malec smirk next to me and we bumped fists. I picked up bits and pieces of the rest of the lecture and Mr. Sharrow's rants, but mostly the hour involved Malec and I passing a note back and forth. Its contents: various games of Tic-Tac-Toe and Hang Man.

Before I knew it, an hour had come and gone and the bell rang again.

"Malec, Donte!" Mr. Sharrow called over the ringing. He motioned for us to approach his desk. As he started the search for our latest works of art – not the sarcasm – again, an announcement came over the P.A. system:_ "Felicity Ride, please pick up your history book in the office. Felicity Ride, your history book is waiting for you in the office. That's all."_

Malec and I looked at each other and he shrugged. "She must have left it at home."

I just nodded and dismissed the idea, looking out the window again as we listened to Mr. Sharrow's curses about 'finding the damn papers' become more profound. Then, something odd occurred to me as two figures walked down the front steps.

I nudged Malec and inclined my head toward the window. He looked for a second then shook his head. "I knew she'd get caught sooner or later." We both watched Malec's father escort a rather pissed off Felicity down the steps and launched themselves into the sky. Then, as they became more and more transparent, four more figures – rather large ones at that – came out of the shadows of the building, exchange a few words, and then launch into the sky after them.

**Well, how's that for a cliff-hanger? And the whole thing with Macbeth's famous quote is because I had it drilled into my brain for the last two years and figured I might as well incorporate it somewhere, haha.**

**I know, it's kind of short, but it's all I got for now. If there are more Reviews more chapters might come out. **

**Thanks For Reading! R&R**

**-Aly**


	9. C8: One Plan, One Mission

**Future History**

Chapter Eight: One Plan, One Mission

**Fang POV**

None of it made sense. Why were they here all of a sudden? Where have they been hiding over the last twenty years? But of course, I should have known we couldn't keep our kids out of danger forever. A guy can only hope.

"Felicity!" I yelled, hoping she would come flying through the sky unharmed, saying that it was a sick joke and everything was okay. There's that 'hope' thing again.

Sadly, all I got in response was another blood curdling scream, and, "Stop! Put me down!"

I flew fast, pumping my wings harder. Did she really fly this far in that short amount of time? I hoped Iggy was ready to back me up, because this was going to be tough.

"Felicity!" I called again, purposely giving away my position. You all are probably thinking, "What the hell is wrong with you? Aren't you the number one stealth ninja in the world? Why are you giving away your position?" Let's just say I know what I'm doing and leave it at that.

"Dad I- Ah! What are you doing? Put me down!" She sounded panicked, scared even. I tried to teach my kids to be fearless, in case there were situations where they would actually face danger and had to battle through it. Though I never knew they would ever face encounters like this so soon.

Finally, I broke into a clearing in the trees, ramming myself into the closest Eraser I could. That's right; Eraser. I'm just as surprised as you are. I did what Iggy called my 'Shadow' maneuver. I disappear, get as close as I can to the enemy, then reappear and take them down. Why reappear to take them down? So that the other enemies – in this case, Erasers – come after me, making it that much easier to go invisible and do it all over again.

I was on my fifth Eraser when I heard a gun go off. Of course I stopped, finding Felicity almost instantly to make sure she was okay, which she was. Then I noticed who shot off the bullet: a really tall Eraser with jet black fur. This is where I will admit that the Erasers still able to move – let alone alive – were smart enough to take advantage of the distraction and tackle me to the ground. Ever get about seven cars piled on top of you? Well, it isn't very comfortable.

They slammed my head into the ground, causing an instant headache. After pinning my arms in a position arms don't usually go in, they all howled and laughed as each of them took turns at using my already mangled body as a punching bag.

"Stop! You're killing him! Dad!" Hearing Felicity's voice was a relief, letting me know that she was still okay. However, in my head, I found myself thinking_, Felicity, no. Escape while their attention is on me; go find Iggy and get out of here while you still can!_ Unfortunately, she couldn't hear any of that.

"You heard the lady! That's enough!" another voice boomed, and the Erasers were surprising quick to obey.

While they dragged my beaten body off the dirt, I assessed the damage they'd done: hurts to breath, at least two broken ribs, one cracked rib, swollen eye, fractured left leg, and possible internal bleeding. Considering the danger level of any Eraser attack, not too bad. Panting, I spit out a pool of blood from my mouth and looked the lead Eraser in the eye. "Let. Her. Go."

He only laughed at my pitiful demand. "Such demanding words for someone who is about to die." I didn't say anything, just stared him down. "And why would I do that? So you can go live your happy little life and not have a care in the world? No way." He placed an ugly claw under her chin and turned her head upwards to see her face. "But don't worry too much, I'll be gentle with this one. Don't want to ruin such a pretty face."

I knew what he was hinting at, and it only made my blood boil. I yanked at the Erasers that had my arms and actually got free; the damn fools. I ignored the screaming pain in my leg as I moved faster than the wind, my target in clear sight; it even seemed like he didn't have enough time to react. At least, that's what my first thought was, until I saw the sick smirk on the beast's face. I snarled, and lunged for him, about tare that arm away from my daughter's face when—

Pain.

That was it, just pain; nothing else was coherent or made sense. The only thing that existed in that moment was pain. My body bent at an odd angle, every muscle instantly clenching up the pain was so intense. I heard several shrill screams, but I couldn't depict if they were Felicity's or my own. Then, just as fast as if happened, it was over. The world came back to me in a sudden flash, my body falling in a crippled mess on the ground.

"Let me go!" Felicity demanded again, and seconds later I felt her warm hands shaking me a little too hard. "Dad! Are you okay? Get up! Dad!"

I cracked open an eye, seeing tears roll down her face. "Fe..licity… Go…"

"No! Not without you." She whipped the tears away. "They'll kill you; they told me they would."

I almost smiled. How many other lies did they tell Max and I when we were kids? "Use…you power. Get…get out of here."

She shook her head. "I…I can't." Then she pointed to the device around her neck that I hadn't noticed. "If I try to use my powers-"

"It sends a powerful shock through her system," the leader explained, looming over Felicity and I. "I can control how much shock she receives, and it could either only numb her or kill her."

I looked from him to Felicity, her face telling me she had already tried and it was true. "He said they have the others – Malec, Natalia, Vanessa, Faye, and even little Tyler. He said our parents would be okay if I went with them." Her face fell further, more tears rolling down her face. "He said we'd never see you again."

I struggled to move, to lift my mangled body up, but I only fell back down. "Dad!" she yelled, clenching my bloodied shirt as I lay nearly lifeless on my back, looking up at her through one good eye. "You have to find us…" she said softly so that only I could hear. She shook me lightly and, in a louder voice, begged me not to die. In between each plead was a quiet message to me: **[[Italicized in "" is felicity whispering a secret message to Fang.]]**

"Dad, please! You can't die!"

"_We'll survive…"_

"What about Mom? And Uncle Iggy? And Aunt Nudge? And Uncle Gazzy?"

"…_But you can't come after us…"_

"You can't do this to me…! Daddy!"

"_Understand…?"_

"Please…"

"_Don't come…" _

"Stay…"

It was all very confusing and I tried to hold on longer to hear what else was coming from her lips, to tell her that I would find her and save her, no matter what it took. But I couldn't find the strength. I felt her get dragged from my side, all the while screaming to let her go.

The last thing I felt was the wind blow hard against my body before it all went dark.

**Malec POV**

Okay, so I haven't exactly told my parents the truth about my friends, but it was something we needed to stay a secret. In order to coax the creepy guys that recently started stalking our school out of hiding. But our plan didn't quite go as planned.

"How far?" Donte asked, soaring through the sky like a pro. Yeah, Donte has wings, but it was necessary to keep that from my parents, because of his own family secrets.

"Fifteen minutes, tops." I glanced behind us, watching the speed boat carrying the rest of the 'band' close behind. "We'd get there faster if they could fly."

Donte smirked a bit. "If only life were that simple."

I chuckled. He had a point.

His face was serious now, worry etched into his features. "We'll fine her," he told me, though it felt like he was more or less trying to convince himself.

"I'm scared, Malec," Faye said in my arms. We had gone to the school to get the younger kids. Sadly, I had forgotten that Natalia and Tyler were excused from school today, so only Faye needed to be picked up from kindergarten.

"I know," I said gently, trying to smile, but I don't think I worked. "Once we get there, you put a barrier around yourself and Daddy, okay? You protect him and we will fight off the bad guys."

"What about me?" Vanessa asked, who I had almost forgotten was there. "You are not counting me out of this one."

"No, but you will stay in the barrier and heal my dad as much as you can," I said sternly, making sure my point was clear.

As promised, we made it to land in about fifteen minutes. Andy, Chevelle, and Emmett pour out of the boat, each of them breaking into a run to now follow us on foot. Andy said something to Chevelle – who turned into a Cheetah and dashed on ahead – then signaled us to fly down. I tapped my wing against Vanessa's, telling her to drop the altitude, and Donte followed. We did so as we all came up on the house – my house.

"There's no one home," Emmett informed us, using his sensitive fox-hearing to our advantage. "And odds are they already have Natalia and Tyler."

I felt Vanessa go stiff next to me. "I can't believe I couldn't get to her in time."

"She'll be okay, her and Tyler both." I shifted Faye a little in my arms. "There's no way you could have saved them if 'they' were already here."

"Well, why couldn't Chevelle see them coming a little sooner?" she practically yelled, frustration leaking from every word.

"You know as well as I do that she can't _choose_ when to see something," I growled, angry that she would think to pin that on one of our own friends. She didn't say anything, finally able to agree with me on this one. I swear that girl is almost as stubborn as her father.

"We're getting closer," Emmett announced, turning his whole body into an indestructible metal, one of his perks to being part human, part freak. "And Chevelle found Iggy; he's a bit panicked."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, because she probably snuck up on him."

Vanessa shook her head. "Dad doesn't take surprises too well, and for a good reason."

Then there was that silent calm; the calm that always comes before a storm. That's when we heard a gunshot go off. Before I could stop him, Donte took off high into the sky to avoid having to dodge trees. "Donte! Wait!"

Andy stopped me. "Let him go, Malec," she said.

"We had a plan," I argued.

"Love changes the whole structure of a well thought out and complete plan," Vanessa agreed, looking in my direction. "You can't seriously tell me you haven't noticed." When my dumbfounded silence made my answer clear, she groaned and said, "He loves her! God, I'm blind it I could see it."

They clearly had more to say, but Felicity's scream stopped their words.

"We can talk about this later. Let's put the other part of the plan in action," I said. They all nodded and Andy and Emmett broke off in opposite directions while Vanessa, Faye and I kept a straight course. _Whatever it took_, I thought to myself, _we'll make it in time._

**Donte POV**

Her cries to her father were unbearable; I couldn't take it anymore! If something happened to any of them, I don't know how I could ever face any of them ever again. Screw Malec's plan, I needed to save her _now_.

I angled my body straight down into a nose dive, and about ten feet from the earth I used my ability to control wind to send a powerful gust at the ground, breaking my fall. I bent my knees to absorb the blow from the nose-dive impact, and had to brace myself with on hand so I didn't fall forward. The gust, of course, sent everyone on the ground flying backwards on their asses.

Before the dust cloud had a chance to clear, I grabbed Felicity by the arm and pulled her closer to where her father lay motionless on the ground. Oh, crap.

She struggled in my hold, punching my chest and trying to rip herself from my grasp, obviously not realizing it was me. "Felicity, stop," I said gently, trying to hold her still.

She stopped abruptly, recognizing my voice. She looked up at me, eyes red from salty tears, and practically jumped into my arms. I can't deny how…comforting to hold her in my arms, her body pressed against mine. "Donte! I am so happy you're here! They came out of nowhere and – I panicked! I know I should have-"

I held her close, relishing in how perfectly her body formed to mine and I hugged her tight. "Shh… It's okay. We'll get you out of here." But before any other words could be exchanged, there was a small _thunk_ and something hit Felicity's back. She let out a yelp and I looked over her back. "Shit," I cursed, quickly pulling the object from her back and throwing it away somewhere.

It was a tranquilizer dart.

"D-Donte…" Her voice was weak, and it reminded me of that night of the freshmen year concert, how scared she was to find me in the bathroom that way. And then she went completely limp.

"Felicity!" I called out, but it was useless, she was already knocked out. I glared up the shooter, a tall Eraser and black fur and an ugly snout. "You bastard…" I growled. "You will pay for that, and for even attempting an attack on this family. You will pay for it all." Before I could advance, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Malec," I announced, surprised he had caught up already.

He nodded as a kind of "It's okay now" motion. "Put her in the barrier with my dad," he said, motioning to where Vanessa and Faye were hunched over his father. Vanessa held her hands over her uncle, a soft orange, green, and blue haze drifted over him – that was her power to heal any injury. I could see Faye's gentle face twisted up in sadness and fear, tears streaming down her face. Of course, this only pissed me off more.

"Faye can't make a barrier bigger than that, so we will have to hold them off." His eyes scanned the cloud, searching for the bastard that did his to his sister.

I nodded and gently hefted Felicity into both my arms, holding her at the bend in her knees and her shoulders close to my chest. I only got one step toward that direction before an unimaginable pain wracked over my whole body. I grunted, barely able to stop myself from dropping Felicity's limp body as I collapsed to my knees.

"Donte-" came Malec's voice. It wasn't even a second later that his body fell to the ground, body twitching violently.

It took all my strength to fight the pain that washed over my body, continuously growing stronger, as I lay Felicity down before collapsing to my hands and knees next to her. I tilted my head and looked up to see Andy at the tree line, eyes wide with pity and worry. The distraction worked and Chevelle and Emmett were able to get Fang and the girls out. Using the force of the wind, I sent one word toward her before she disappeared into the woods after the others: "Run."

Then everything went back as pain consumed every part of my being.

**Well, I think I'll stop there. How's that for another suspenseful cliffhanger? Lol I kind of liked this chapter. The next couple will be in either Max of Fang's POV, so it will seem like the kids have been gone for days – which you will find out they really have been missing that long.**

**Anyway, I think I will be updating more now that school is out. So, expect more chapters popping up throughout the weeks.**

**Thanks For Reading! R&R**

**-Aly**


	10. C9: First Some Answers

**A small FYI: All flashbacks will be in 3****rd**** person POV. So, when the flashback ends and I'm still writing in third person, make a note for me to fix it. And there is going to be a lot of them, so keep your eyes open, lol. Thanks.**

**Future History**

Chapter Nine: First, Some Answers

**Fang POV**

Going through the process of thinking you are dead can be… boring. I wondered the darkness for what felt like days. I never felt tired, but there was just – well, nothing. You'd think God was playing yet another cruel joke – besides making my life a living hell – and put me in the "The-Completely-Nothingness-Section" of the after-life, or something.

My virtually fried brain kept wondering back to Felicity, wondering if she was okay. The last few seconds with her played over and over in my head, but I still couldn't piece together how the Erasers – and the evil masterminds behind their re-creation – decided to now come after us. Attempting to wrap my head around the idea was like brain surgery. (Bad joke.)

"…Is he awake…?" I heard a voice ask, and it sounded familiar. It was also very distant, and hard to hear.

"…No…" Both voices sounded sad, but one was male and the other female.

"…Vanessa said she did all she could for him… I know you were hoping for a quicker recovery, but she really couldn't figure out why she couldn't come back from this quicker… We all are…"

The feminine voice sighed. "…I know, Iggy… And I'm grateful for Vanessa's help…"

"…She'll be okay, Max… They all will be…"

They must have been talking about Felicity. I tried to focus more on what they were saying, but my semi-consciousness slipped and I fell back into the dark nothingness.

Hours later, though I'm not sure how many, I came back to reality. The sun shone through the curtains in what looked like me and Max's bedroom. No one was in the room so I relaxed a bit, closing my eyes and focusing on how soft the bed was against my aching muscles, and how warm the comforter was. Still so tired from my fight with that Eraser, I didn't notice right away that someone walked into the room and gasped.

"Fang?"

I snapped open my eyes and saw Nudge, who visibly relaxed when I opened my eyes. She chuckled lightly to herself. "You were invisible; I thought you had gotten out of bed but then I the blankets were still shaped to your body and I was honestly a little worried that maybe you-"

"Nudge," I said, halting her ranting.

She shook her head, as if to literally bring her back to the reason for coming in. "I came to check on you, see if you were up yet." She walked slowly walked to my side of the bed, placing a glass of water on the bedside table. She helped me sit up, saying sorry every time she saw me wince. I drank a little water, the cool liquid feeling amazing on my severely dried throat. She made herself busy with checking and rewrapping the bandage on my arm; I hadn't even noticed I was cut. It looked good, and I could tell Vanessa had helped because there wasn't any sign of scaring.

"How's Felicity?" I asked out of nowhere, wondering where everyone else was, too, but decided to save that one for later.

Nudge's response wasn't what I had expected: she was quiet, just staring ahead of her as she cleaned up the dirtied bandage mess. "Did you know that everyone in Malec's band are all mutants?" She may have avoided my question for now, but her topic was really rather interesting.

"What?" I narrowed my eyes. "Are you sure?"

She nodded, making her way to the trash bin in the master bathroom – connected to the bedroom, of course. "Even Donte."

I pondered on the topic for a minute, watching Nudge wash her hands after dealing with my blood. I didn't like how quiet she was being; it was very unnerving. Any other day she was go off about how exciting it was that there were other mutants in our ever-growing 'family'. (I say it that way because she thinks any mutant off the street is a part of our family.) She seemed to walk around the room in a daze, finally stopping in front of the portrait window that lead to the forest the separated our house from Iggy's home.

"Nudge, you never told me how Felicity is," I stated.

She still didn't say anything; just watched outside as a gust of wind blew the trees gently outside. "You know, I never would have thought they would come so soon…" She voice was broken, shaky. Her shoulders started to shake, and I'm sure my now she was crying.

I reached out and touched her arm, much like I had reached out for Felicity's hand when the bastard hit me with that power of his – or at least what I was assuming was his power. She didn't flinch away, but nor did she seem to want to be touched. Nudge was always a frail person, and when it came to comfort she always felt she could be stronger than she was. "Nudge…"

She sniffled and wiped at her eyes. "Felicity… Felicity and the others were taken," she said softly, seeming to really struggle with the concept of it all. My whole body tensed, I knew she felt it in my grip on her arm. She turned her head to face me, continuing. "Felicity and Malec's friend, Emmett, carried you here – back to the house…."

_Flashback…_

"_Iggy! Fang!" Nudge announced, running down the back porch steps toward them, but stopped when she noticed Fang's torn clothes and mangled appearance. Her hand flew to her mouth, barely stopping a gasp._

_Max appeared in the door wall this next, having sprang to her feet at the sound of her husband's name. She followed Nudge's gaze and felt her eyes go wide. "Fang!" she yelled, dashing past Nudge and to her husband, her heart aching at the sight of him. She flashed a curious glance at Emmett, a boy she barely recognized. "Get him to the house," she instructed them, Iggy in particular. "Mom's in the house waiting." Emmett nodded, and hefted Fang into his arms bridal style, avoiding any reason to stress his wounds further. _

_She then noticed something else: two girls, Chevelle and Andréa, both in the same curious boat as the Emmett boy. Chevelle had Vanessa's arm wrapped around her shoulders, supporting most of her weight. Not far behind them, Faye was walking slowly with the other girl, her daughter's hand in Andréa's._

"_Faye," Max called, beckoning her youngest daughter over to her._

_Faye's tiny face tilted up toward her mother's voice, eyes sad and her cheeks stained with tear streaks. "Mommy!" She sprinted toward Max and threw her small body into her mother's waiting open arms. Tears fell from her eyes again. "Mommy… I was so scared…! Daddy was hurt…" She hick-uped from the force of her crying. "And I put a barrier up so-" Hick-up "—so Vanessa could heal him-" she hick-uped one last time before crying louder, not able to form any more words._

_Max shushed her child, rocking her back and forth. "It's okay now, baby. No one is gunna hurt you or anyone else. I promise."_

_End Flashback…_

Nudge shifted her sitting position on the bed, having sat down half way through her story. "From there, Dr. M took over looking over and caring for your wounds because Vanessa was too tired from trying to heal Fang all at once and Faye was too shaken up from the whole situation to use her other power to regenerate Vanessa's." She all of that in one breath, making it look effortless.

I sighed. I knew the family would have been shaken up as much as I was about the Erasers becoming a threat again. I just never thought it would come to something like this.

"They didn't just take Felicity," Nudge spoke again after a long pause to collect her thoughts, her eyes meeting mine. "They took Malec and Donte, too." I looked away from Nudge's pained gaze, knowing all too well that my feelings always seemed to reflect in my eyes.

Nudge sighed, then chuckled lightly again, though this one was half-heartedly. "They were tough to beat though." I met her eyes again, waiting for her to continue. "I guess…from what the others told us, they didn't go down without a fight…"

_Flashback…_

"_What do you mean Malec and Felicity are gone?" Max demanded, fuming. "Iggy, why did you let them get away? Why didn't someone go after them? Why in God's name were you kids there in the first place? Last time I checked, I dropped you all off at school this morning!" She was beyond furious, though she was definitely hurt. _

_Iggy's face remained calm as he let his fingers dance over Fang's chest, feeling for any broken bones. "He requested that I stay behind and act as back up," he answered the first question._

_Andy didn't want to open her mouth and get herself in the middle of a family thing, but she had to defend their actions. "If we didn't show up when we did, who knows what condition your husband would be in now." Max's head snapped in her direction, her eyes stone cold as her gaze burrowed invisible holes into her head. Andy continued, barely fazed by the stare, "If Chevelle didn't see that your family was in danger, we all may have been hurt worse, or dead. If we hadn't followed those men back to your house, those of us who walked out of those woods-" she pointed toward the direction of the forest in the back yard "-would not be standing here in this house."_

_Max, frozen with aggravation and slight anger, kept her mouth shut, eyes still hard. How could she deny what she knew was true? She couldn't come up with any witty retort like she did when it came to the government or dealings with any clients. She knew what this girl said was true, and there was no way around it. If anything, she owed them her thanks, not scoldings. _

"_She's right, Max," Iggy said, letting Dr. M take over and wrap the wounds that littered his best friend's body. "I saw it all happen myself. From the shadow of the trees – I saw their aura's change as they fought off the Erasers to save Fang and the girls. Each of them played a part in getting the others to safey."_

_Still feeling angry and confused, Max didn't have time to stop the next words that came out of her mouth: "And where the hell were you in that fight?"_

_She immediately regreted saying it, but Iggy just brushed it off and shrugged. "I did was I could to get my best friend from the brink of death. I did all I could, and I realize it wasn't enough."_

_End Flashback…_

That's when Tyler came running into the room. "Mama…!" the boy wined, reminding me so much of how Faye would call to Max when she wanted a cookie.

Nudge picked him up without hesitation, kissing him on the cheek. My teeth automatically clenched.

_How could I have been so stupid?_ I thought, watching Nudge cradle her son as he snuggled into her lap, eyes already drooping. "How could I let this happen?" I found myself asking aloud, thought that was meant to stay an inside voice.

Nudge tried to smile, but it turned into more of a cringe. "You had no way of knowing, Fang. None of this was your fault." She laid her hand on mine, trying to be comforting.

I took a deep breath, readying myself for whatever part of the story was next. I nodded for her to continue:

_Flashback…_

_Nudge watched in horror as Chevelle and Andréa carried Jack – who fought off the Erasers when they entered their home while Nudge took Tyler and Natalia to their private school – onto Max's couch. Emmett was keeping watch from the roof, using his enhanced hearing to make sure no one followed. "Tactic 41…" she said softly, though it grabbed Max's attention. _

_Her eyes shifted quickly from Nudge to Iggy, her eyes ablaze. "You mean to tell me you actually used those stupid tactics you teach the kids in combat training?" Max always hoped it was something to make the men feel better about the kids going out and having a life of their own without their parents breathing down their backs. Clearly, she was mistaken. "And how do you think it worked, Iggy?" she demanded, barely able to keep her eyes on her mangled husband. "Do you rate that test and 'A' for effort?" She didn't mean to mock their teaching abilities, but she was just so lost and confused, mainly worried about the kids._

"_Max." Her mother's stern voice stopped any other disrespectful words leave her mouth. "Can you help me get this shirt off of him so I can get a better look at the scratches on his arms?" _

_Hesitating, she lowered Faye on the ground to her feet. "Sweetie, why don't you and Andréa go make sure Vanessa is okay up stairs?"_

_Faye wiped her tears from her eyes, sniffling. "M-Mommy… I don'-t" hick-up "-want D-Daddy to die…" This caught everyone's attention. No one moved as they listened to this sweet girl's pained words. _

"_Who said your Dad was gunna die, honey?" Max asked, cradling her daughter's face. _

_Faye sniffled, and everyone in the room waited anxiously for her to say what they were already sure her answer would be: "The Erasers…"_

_The air hung heavy in the air, but Dr. M was quick to bark out orders get her bandages and medical supplies. Everyone moved all at once, eager to break the tense atmosphere._

_Andréa took Faye's hand, guiding her toward the stairs. Before she followed the little girl up the stairs, Andréa turned to Max and said, "Malec and Donte fought hard to keep them off of us." Her voice was shaky, and her face may have been blank at first, but her eyes held worry and a great amount of concern the whole time. "They distracted those things so we could get your husband, Vanessa and Faye out of there. But when an Eraser grabbed Felicity they both jumped to save her. Despite our pleas to help, Malec told us to take everyone to safety and to make a run for the house, promising to be right behind us." She blinked but wasn't quick enough to stop a tear of her own from falling down her cheek. "No one regrets watching them fly after the chopper – only to get caught themselves – more than me. I was the one that let them split up your family because I don't have wings to fly. My powers are completely useless when it comes to battle, so I failed there, too. But you need to believe me when I say I will not stay behind and watch the rest of you put yourself in danger because of my mistake. Malec's plan to rescue your daughter and my best friend was flawless, but I couldn't get to her fast enough, and it came with a price." _

_During her speech, Max didn't know what to say having been speechless yet again. She couldn't actually bring herself to believe that her eldest children's disappearances were her fault, but she didn't know how to comfort his girl. Nor did she want to fill her head with little promises the way she did the ease Faye's worry. If this girl promised to help save her family, she wasn't going to stop her._

_Andréa turned toward the fleet of stairs keeping her head low. "I will put my life on the line to get them back, I promise you that…"_

_End Flashback…_

"And I'm going to stand by that promise," a voice came from the doorway. Nudge practically jumped with surprise. I didn't recognize her too well, but it was safe to assume it was Andréa leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed, her words pulling us from Nudge's story.

"Andréa?" I questioned, just wanting to be sure.

She nodded. "My friends call me Andy." There, in her eyes. It flickered to life for a second, but I saw it. Just the mere mention of her friends sends guilt through her body like an electric jolt. How do I know? I was in that very same boat every time we – the Flock – were attacked by Erasers when we were young.

"How did you know about the Erasers on the island?" I asked, wanting to know exactly why they were here and not in school.

She pushed herself off the doorframe, shifting her weight from foot to foot. "We noticed these way-too-buff-to-be-students-or-parents-weirdoes at the school every day for almost a week. The same guys would pull up to the front gates in a black car, windows tinted and sit there for hours. They would be there when school started and when we all go out of band practice."

"Did they threaten any of you?"

She shook her head. "No, but they were always watching, either from behind the tinted windows on the cars or their sunglasses. I was like they were waiting for something," she said, seeming to ponder the idea of it herself. "We tried leaving practice at different times, taking different routes home, but they never did anything else but watch us."

I ignored the fact that it was more than likely my son's idea to try and provoke them to attack and said, "Where there any new teachers in the building that you know of?"

Another shake of the head. "It was like they were waiting for someone else to show up, almost a confirmation that we were who they thought we were."

That was it. Everything made sense now. The Erasers were waiting for—

"Fang! You're up."

"Daddy!"

From behind Andréa was Max holding Faye, her face lighting when she seen I was awake. She let Faye down so the little girl could dash over to the bed, fling herself on top, and wrap herself around my neck. I smiled, more than happy to see she was okay. As my family slipped into the room, Andréa slid from the doorway and backed out, making herself scarce.

"Daddy, I'm so happy you're okay!" Faye squealed, squeezing me tighter. I held her tight, ignoring the tight pressure in my chest.

"I'm happy you're okay, too, sweetheart," I said. She pulled away and held my face in her hands. She then proceeded to shake her head back and forth, making her nose bump mine with every movement. She always thought this was funny because I rubbed my nose on hers all the time when she was a baby. Back then, it was a way of showing affection. Now, it's like a little game to her.

Iggy made himself busy with teasing and taunting me in any way possible, but I was still tired from the earlier fiasco and didn't have the energy to fight back much. Nudge talked up a storm about how worried she had been, and how weird the kids must be, and it somehow shifted over the 'crazy weather we've been having'. Dr. M and Frank expressed their gratitude to my getting better and left it at that. She also warned me to get rest and take it easy for another day or so. Even over the years of dealing with our fast healing, she never seen it as an excuse to get out of bed rest, even for a veterinary doctor. I was actually surprised to see Gazzy and Alexis in our circle, too. They told me how they were out on a walk with the baby when they came home to their house on fire. Alexis looked on the verge of tears as she explained that all their baby gifts and everything of Daniel's was in there and that he had nothing left. Dr. M assured her they had spares around the house and they could stay with them for the time being. All in all, it was one hell of a day.

Eventually, they cleared out of the room to fix up dinner and prepare sleeping spots. Everyone brought their plates back to our room – thank god it was a rather large master bedroom – and ate here. Even the other kids – Andréa Emmett and Chevelle – joined us, their own plates stacked with food. Everyone brought their plates back to our room – thank god it was a rather large master bedroom – and ate here. Even the other kids – Andréa Emmett and Chevelle – joined us, their own plates stacked with food. Gazzy and Alexis took up Faye's room, letting the baby have the rather small bed and they took the floor; Iggy and Ella's family took shelter in Malec's room; Nudge and Tyler slept next to a recovering Jack in the guest bedroom down the hall from our room; Dr. M and Frank slept in the guest bedroom down stairs; everyone else stole a spot on a couch or floor in the living room.

Max and I were lying in bed with Faye asleep between us, the question finally came up: "What are we going to do?"

She lay on my left, her oddly positioned head lifted up slightly so I could see the sadness expressed in her features. "We…don't know." She paused and laid her head back down, playing absentmindedly with a lock of Faye's hair. I stared blankly at the opposite wall as she spoke. "I mean, it's obvious that we're going after them, but we don't have a plan. We were waiting for you to wake to decide details."

When she mentioned going to get them, I could help but remember parts of Felicity's message: _"We will survive… But you can't come after us… Understand…? Stay…"_

I couldn't stop the slow smile that crossed my features, my hand moving slowly up and down Max's arm. "It's amazing how twenty years can change how you form a plan of attack. Back then you would have left me here to heal and go off on your own, whereas now you decided to wait." My soft smile quickly changed into a smirk when she looked at me, lifting her head again. "How thoughtful of you," I said playfully.

She rolled her eyes, playfully smacking my shoulder. Sadly, she forgot – or maybe she didn't – that I was still sore and said a silent apology when I cringed in pain.

"We can decide tomorrow what we want to do," she said, laying back down and drawing the blankets up closer to Faye's chin, who had one hand curled into a fist – something that was a part of her character even inside Max's belly – and stretched around my abdomen. Her back was to max as her little frame was tucked close to my side. Max kissed the closest part of my face she could reach, which was my chin, and tucked her face into my neck, her breathing already evening out. "Sleep tight, Fang," she said softly, her voice lowed immensely. "I have a feeling it's going to be a long day tomorrow."

I really did try to close my eyes and relax, but my body just wouldn't have. (I said it once and I'll say it again: God has a twisted sense of humor.) A small amount of adrenaline pumped through my body as I lay wide awake, thinking of all the things those evil scientists could be doing to my children. All the memories of needles being poked into my body every five minutes, my muscled being pushed to their limits, the agony of every knife cut and broken bone etching into my body as the horrors of that place flooded back.

I calmed my racing heart, letting the adrenaline wear off. Sleep finally crept over my body as I made a silent promise to myself, as well as my family: I would do anything to get them back, and I will take down every last branch of that horrid place once and for all.

**Well, there's nine. I'm seriously cruising in this story! Lol. Anyway, this chapter was kind of a stretch. I didn't like how it fit together – like trying to put a circle shape into a square hole. But, I lived with what I got. Nothing can be perfect. So, I'll deal with it. Also, what did you think? Lol I like this chapter a lot, despite the work it still needs. **

**Well, looking forward to the usual – comments, questions, and reviews in general.**

**Thanks For Reading! R&R**

**-Aly**


	11. C10: Running Out of Time

**Future History**

Chapter Ten: Time's Running Out

**Donte POV**

It's safe to say I woke up feeling like complete shit once my eyes caught the blinding, bright light. I blinked several times, trying to get over the idea that if the light was any brighter, I could get a tan from it. I took in my surroundings, first spotting the fact that I was in a white room with no visible doors or windows. Then I noticed that I was strapped to a table, which was positioned at a forty-five degree angle, my arms pinned on either side of my head. I struggled hard against them, and soon found out my neck, as well as my legs, were strapped down, too.

There was a groan from somewhere behind me. That's when I realized I wasn't alone.

"Felicity?" I called, hoping it was either her or Malec and that they were okay.

I was rewarded another groan, and I recognized it was, in fact, Felicity. "Are you okay?" I asked, still trying to cram my head in the direction her voice came in. I couldn't see her face, but I caught the bottom of the table she was strapped to, and the fact that her legs the strapped down like mine.

There was a slight _clang_ as she tried to free herself against her own restraints. "Donte? Is that you?"

I smiled. "Yes, princess," I said, calling her by the nickname I gave her back when we first started the band. I was definitely glad she was okay, but pissed that I couldn't get free of these damn chains.

"Where are we?" she asked, bewildered by her surroundings. "Where's Malec?"

"Present…" Malec's voice came from my right, his voice confirming that we were all just waking from the biggest headache of our lives. "What the hell happened last night?"

I barely resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Malec, open your eyes," I said, knowing by the tone of his voice that he hadn't even gotten to that step yet. There was a pause then the all-too-familiar _clang_ as he tried his own strength against the metal restraints and failed. Then: "Seriously though, what happened?"

"And where are we?" Felicity asked again, and it was the exact question I had been waiting for.

"You guys know exactly where you are," I said in a grim voice, trying to fully accept it myself.

Itex.

There was dead silence for several seconds before Felicity spoke up, "I didn't think it actually existed." She paused, trying again at her restraints. "Especially this – the chains and mid-evil idea of torture. Mom and Dad always told us stories about a horrible place that never seemed to have an exit; that they always had to make their own." She sighed heavily. "I always thought it was some kind of ghost story."

"These people _are_ ghosts," Malec said, uselessly pulling at his restraints again. "They disappeared off the face of the earth for almost twenty years, and then what? They suddenly reappear? It doesn't add up. None of this makes sense. What are they after?"

"Us," I said bluntly.

I hear Malec scuff. "That much is apparent, Captain Obvious of the U.A.A. Moron."

"'U.A.A'?"

"_You are a moron!"_

I glared at nothing in particular, picturing his face in my head. "And who was the one who woke up acting like her had a hangover?"

I heard Felicity's cuff's give a loud clank but chose to ignore it, figuring she was trying to get loose again. "Guys."

"Why the hell would you state something that is so blatantly obvious when we could use some helpful hints to get the hell out of here?"

I tugged at the cuffs keeping my body at bay, anger and frustration fueling my motions. "Don't avoid the question! You know as well as I do it's true and just can't accept it! Just like most GPA's that you are so convinced are false. Not all of the teachers are one your side, you know."

"Guys!" Felicity yelled, but she didn't play a part in this argument.

"How the hell was I supposed to know the difference? A splitting headache is a splitting headache! And don't _you_ avoid _my_ question!"

"You know, you are being a real pain in the-"

Suddenly, the cuffs on our wrists, neck and legs came loose, letting us slide from the observation table and to the floor. It happened so fast, a barely had a second to register what had actually happened before the tables moved to the center of the room by themselves, like they were being magnetically drawn to that point of the room. They straightened up to a full ninety degrees before sliding down the whole in the floor that "magically" disappeared once they were through.

The fact that the tables we were strapped to suddenly disappear into the floor closely reminded me of something you would see in the _Resident Evil_ movies. "I swear to God, if these lunatics let an infectious, man-eating disease out into civilization…"

"You'll _what_?" Malec countered, still buzzed about our 'big fight'. "Say, 'Bad dog!' and expect their decomposing bodies to sit? This isn't _Resident Evil_, men, it's really happening."

"Hey, you watch those movies as much as I do."

"And your point?" Malec's stare was almost threatening, but none of those things were even meaningful between us – this was just like play fighting, if you will.

I had a retort, but the words didn't even escape my mouth.

"Are you two going to argue, or are you going to thank me for setting you free?" Malec and I, once on our feet, turned and faced Felicity, her hands on her hips matched a glare of impatience.

All three of us we wearing white tee-shirts and pants, and sign of the clothes we were wearing earlier gone. I stopped a shudder from running down my spine.

"How did you…?" But the words didn't even get past my lips, before the answer practically smacked me in the face. "You can use your powers."

She rolled her eyes, but then giggled lightly. "You really are Captain Obvious today."

**Max POV**

"No way. I don't' like it."

"Come on, Gazzy," I almost whined having already gone through at least seven different strategies. "We're going to leave the others in Chevelle and Emmett's care while we track down the kids. That's the only option we got that works."

"Well, I don't like it."

We have been sitting – or rather pacing – my living room floor trying to figure out how to approach this plan the right way. Iggy's plan was to leave my Mom, Frank, Jack, Alexis, Ella and the kids under Chevelle and Emmett's protection – he had really taking a liking to them and really trusts them. Then, while keeping in mind that everyone else is safe, Fang, Iggy, Gazzy, Andy, and I head for Itex; wherever that is. Gazzy, however, doesn't like the idea of leaving his wife and new born son alone. Do you see where my life is oh-so joyous, peaceful, and not frustrating? (Note the sarcasm.)

"Gazzy, I get that you want to stay, but we need your ability to manipulate voices," Nudge tried, keeping her voice slow and calm, which was something rare with Nudge.

He still looked skeptical, like he was closer to jumping off a bridge with his wings tied than going with us, until a voice spoke up.

"Gaz, sweetie, go with them," Alexis said, though her voice was barely heard over the others. Gazzy was the first to drag his eyes to her, giving her his full attention.

"Are you sure? I can't leave you here without knowing you are okay by yourself."

I stopped the snort that threatened to rise past my throat. _Oh, sure. He'll listen to her, but won't take my advice._

She shook her head, kind like a small sway of the head. "I'm not alone here; Daniel and I are never alone. Your family has an amazing knack for being caring and very protective." She smiled, letting it light up her face. "So, while we are left here safe and sound, you can focus on keeping your family together."

Gazzy's face saddened slightly, holding on to her by her arms. "You and Daniel are my family now. I can't bring myself to leave you two here."

She gazed at Gazzy for a moment before stepping out of his hold and walked over to my mother. She smiled that caring smile of hers and gladly accepted Alexis into a hug. They embraced for a few moments, proving Alexis' point. She stepped out of Mom's hold, leaving her arm wrapped around her as she faced Gazzy again. "Everyone here is family, Gazzy. Everyone here cares for us more than anything else. Why wouldn't you want to leave me and Daniel in such caring arms?" she asked, motioning to Mom.

"Ooh… She played the guilt card," Iggy whispered to me. He was promptly smacked on her arm, which he rubbed immediately after.

After another moment of taking in her words, he nodded his head in agreement. "Okay, I'll go."

Alexis ran at him, his arms immediately opening to gather her in a hug. "Be careful, dear. And try not to think too much about us, because there is nothing to worry about."

He nodded into her hair and kissed her head.

As sweet as that was, we needed to get going. That's me: Max the 'moment' ruiner.

It was a lot like old times; saying good-bye to Mom as the Flock and I went off to save the world from turmoil. Vanessa, of course, pouted that was being left behind, but Andy was the one to 'comfort' her, talking her into staying and calming her rage. I don't know what she said, but I'm glad Vanessa wasn't going to tear a whole in my living wall to channel her anger. I'd like my house in tact when I come back.

We finally took to the air, and it was amazing to feel the wind on my face. It was like a waterless shower – like the wind could "wash" my worries away. However, worries still laid on my mind, and Fang was one of them.

I watched him on my right out of the corner of my eye. He was lagging slightly, which I'm guessing was fatigue from the battle only a few days ago. Whatever power that Eraser hit him with took nearly all his energy and strength away. His flight was only slightly off, but I doubt Nudge, Andy, Gazzy, or even Iggy, noticed it. His hair was wisped forcedly from his face, showing off one battle scar he received from the time he tried to take down an Itex facility on his own. It started just in front of his ear on top of the cheek bone and zigzagged messily down his chin. His onyx eyes showed everything that he always refused to say aloud, and right now, I could see fear and worry for our children.

It was a good six hours of straight flying, the only noise being the wind whizzing past our ears and Nudges constant chatter, before someone else spoke up.

"So, do we have a plan to get there?" Iggy asked.

"Um…well…" I tried to think of something quick, but apparently my ability to come up with witty retorts had failed my nowadays.

He sighed. "I knew it. You've finally run out of gas."

I glared at him, little to his knowledge. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

He shrugged, face unreadable. "You usually know just what to say, know just how to be our public speaker. Clearly that was only useful when we were on the run."

Gazzy snorted. "Looks like she got what she wanted," he said under his breath. Too bad for him that I heard him.

I snapped my glare him. "You think I wanted any of this?" I demanded. He didn't respond, just stared straight ahead of him like he didn't say anything at all. Apparently my glaring ability had diminished as well. "How can you honestly think I wanted my past to come back and bite me in the ass?"

"Max…" I ignored Fang's warning tone about my language.

"How can you say I would want my eldest children to have to experience the life I lived at their age? How could you possibly think I wanted my world to come crashing down on top of me when I heard Erasers attacked my family? This ever-growing and expanding family is all I have! A small part of me dies inside when I watch one of you leave to lead your own lives, let alone when my children are forcibly ripped from me." I said it all in one breath, and if I wasn't already winded – ignore the pun – from our long flight, I would have kept going.

It was silent, even the wind seemed to quiet down to emphasize the heaviness in the silence. Wow. It actually gave me a headache.

"Why don't we rest for the night?" Nudge suggested, shifting her bag on her shoulder. "I'm kind hungry anyway. We can set of camp in a hotel somewhere."

I nodded lightly, holding my now throbbing head in my hand, eyes squeezed shut. "Yeah…"

"Did we bring enough money for that?" Andy asked. I had honestly forgotten she had tagged along on this rescue mission. I guess it's a bad thing that I forgot about her, seeing as though I was using my power to control water to keep her in the air. She looked pretty tired, too.

I glanced at Fang, who flashed me his wallet – which was now our life line with the kids schooling and such – before securing it back in his pocket.

I agreed with going down and taking a break, but my drive to get my kids back conquered the rational part of my brain. "M-Maybe we should wait until we cross into the next state," I managed to say without too much difficulty. My small headache had suddenly turned into a fully-out migraine.

"Um…I hate to interrupt," Andy started, now standing from where she was once sitting on the ice surface I created, "but I think this ice is cracking."

I barely turned my head in her direction and – sure enough – I saw a small piece of ice crack and fall from the structure, evaporating into thin air. She was right. My ice was melting, and I couldn't freeze it up again because once it melts its no longer under my control. I can freeze water, but once its heated and turns to a melted state it's out of my hands. I don't know why, but that's just how it works.

Ugh. My headache was getting worse by the second. "Max, you've never used your powers for over six hours at a constant rate," Fang said, his rational thinking in check. He glanced from me to Andy, and back again. "You need a break." He flew closer to me, but I jerked away.

"No! I'm fine," I demanded. Okay, I knew I wasn't fine, but… Malec…Felicity…Donte… They all needed me. "I – I can…make it to th-the…the border…" I said unsteadily. My head felt like it was going to explode, my face as though it was on fire.

"This ice is really cracking now!" I barely heard Andy announce, her voice wavering slightly with serious concern. Everyone's voices seemed to grown father and farther away.

"Max, please," Fang pleaded, using his hand to motion down toward the ground. "Let's take a little break, just long enough for you to gain your strength."

I shook my head, the motion feeling like my brain had come loose and was knocking against the walls of my skull. Then–

…Came Andy's started yelp, and as everything around me turned dark I heard Fang call out my name, as well as a voice saw crisp and clear, as if they were in my head, say, _"Hurry, Maximum... Time's running out..."_

**Fang POV**

We've already taken on half a day's travel, putting the current time at 7:36 in the evening. We've kept up a steady pace toward the direction Andy pointed out. (Don't ask me how, but she managed to put a tracker on the chopper that took Felicity, Malec and Donte.) But I could see fatigue and hunger looming in everyone's face. Especially Max's.

"Max, please. Let's take a little break, just long enough for you to gain your strength." I reached out to her again, at the same time motioning for Gazzy to move closer in case we had to drag her down kicking and screaming. Though I hoped it wouldn't come to that.

She moved her head back and forth very slightly; barely enough movement to call it a shake of the head. Her eyes slowly grew closed as I called out her name, but I was too late, and everything happened all at once:

"Ah!" Andy yelped as the ice quickly shattered into nothing and she plummeted toward the earth.

Seeing as though I was closed to her, I dove after her while calling out to Gazzy, "Gaz, grab Max!"

Gazzy quickly reached out and snatched Max's hand but couldn't get round to reach the rest of her body and fly in place at the same time. "Nudge!" He called, and she was quick to swoop in and grab Max's limp body, cradling her bridle style. Then the four of them – Gazzy, Nudge holding Max, and Iggy – hovered calmly where they had caught Max.

"Fang, you better catch her!" Iggy called after my retreating form. "Your son may never forgive you if you don't!"

I rolled my eyes. Idiot.

I'll say this; Andy was smart enough to not freak out as she fell fast toward her death. She managed to stay calm enough to stop the summer-salts and keep her body horizontal, fighting the strong wind. I fought to catch up to her free-falling speed; Max would have had no problem, but she was out of commission.

I flew as close as I could get, just enough to see her eyes were closed and mouth was screwed shut.

"Andy!" I yelled over the raring wind. Her eyes opened and her gaze flicked toward me, startled. "Spin toward me!" I demanded simply, the plan clear in my head.

Her eyes grew wider (if that was possible). "What? Are you crazy? The wind will catch me before you do!" she countered, clearly seeing what I had in mind.

"That's the idea!" Mind you, she was right: the chilled wind would knock her off balance and she might just fall faster. But, like I said, I had a plan. "Trust me! We're losing altitude!" I said, motioning toward the fast approaching ground.

Without a glance at the ground – probably to keep her wits about her – she tucked in her arms and roughly threw her body toward the right and flipped. As her violent spin turned into a soft flip, I hovered – a skill we mastered years ago – just below her, catching her bridal style with ease. Her breath rushed out in an audible _oof_.

I couldn't help the smirk that crept onto my face as she looked up at me in bewilderment. "Told you so." Leaving the smug feeling behind me, I pumped my wings and flew up higher toward Gazzy and the others, motioning to them with my head to go south in search for a hotel for us to crash in. I flew the same direction, just at a lower altitude; genetic freak or not, this girl weighted about the same as Max did back in the day, and I could only fly so high and keep a fast pace.

She ignored my comment and proceeded to ask, "How did you do that? Can you control the wind, too?"

"'Too'?" I questioned, but brushed it off before she could answer. "Cold air is much harsher than warm air, especially when you are falling sixty-plus miles an hour toward the ground. I knew I wouldn't be able to catch you if the wind chill was below 20 degrees, so-"

"You heated the air yourself; just enough to catch me without any consequence of missing me and letting me fall to my death." She said it so bluntly, I actually chuckled.

"Something like that." Then I noticed her face changed from realization and bewilderment to sadness and sorrow. My smile fell.

She spoke before I could ask. "You have his laugh," she said. "Or, rather, he has yours."

I watched her face for a moment and wondering briefly what my son truly meant to her before staring straight ahead. "I taught them to be strong," I said proudly, despite the fact even I wasn't strong enough to fully accept the truth that they were gone. "They know standard combat and can keep up with me and Max in a fight. I don't know how well Donte fights, but they will all be okay."

I felt her eyes on me, being careful not to stare. "It sounds like you're trying to convince yourself more than me." There was a pause from both of us. "I know how strong they really are. I know better than they know themselves because they are the only family that I have left."

I didn't say anything. In fact, neither of us spoke until we followed Gazzy, Nudge and Iggy to a hotel in the middle of a town. We landed in the alley beside the tall building and I set Andy to her feet.

"Thanks," she muttered before quickly moving away from me and down the alley and turning to the front of the building.

After tucking my wings close to my back and drawing my jacket closed, I took Max from Gazzy carefully, keeping my face expressionless.

"Dude, what did you do to her, Fang?" Iggy questioned exactly like I thought he would. Nudge was the first to roll her eyes and follow the girl down the alley and into the building, mumbling something about man being ridiculous pigs.

I stared Iggy in the eye before realizing it was no use and glanced over at his left shoulder, watching it spark a little as a flame formed on his short sleeve.

"Hey!" He jumped when he felt the familiar warmth, seeing as though we went through this every time he pissed me off. He was quick to put it out, I'll give him that. "Oh, come on! Not again! I liked this shirt," he groaned.

Entering the building, we all got some weird looks, but people were quick to look away. According to other mutants – and humans alike – on my blog that I kept updated from time to time, this was a now common reaction from on-lookers. They would turn a cold shoulder when they realized there was no imminent danger toward themselves.

As the guys and I approached the desk, the clerk glanced at us and asked Andy, "Is this the rest of your party?"

She took one look over her shoulder before turning back to the young man. "Yes. My mom was frequent fainting spells when she overworks herself. We need to rent a room for the night. Our house is hours from here; we were visiting family in town but didn't want to bother them with our company."

As she talked, her story believable and smooth, the clerk, whose badge read 'Alex' was staring a little lower than Andy's eyes. He was a rather handsome young man – no, I'm not gay; just stating a fact – though his appeal could have done wonders without the bright red streak of hair going across the side of his head.

The guy smirked, which only made me that much madder. "And what can I do for you?" he asked, eyes never leaving her chest. I was about to step and tell the pervert to keep his eyes at…well, _eye level_ when Andy help up her hand to me, as if sensing I was stepping forward to intervene.

"First, Alex, you can get us conjoined rooms," she said in that same smooth tone, not letting on that she knew where his gaze was falling. "That way the girls and boys can have some privacy. And please make sure there's plenty of food; we have big appetites."

This must be where he realized that she was much younger than the rest of us with her, because he leaded against the counter to show off his somewhat muscular arms. (I was proud to take a moment to compare his arms to Malec's and say that my sons were better built. It made Andy's ignorance to his flirtatious motives that much better.)

He winked at her. "Sure thing, sweetheart." He typed a few things into the computer then turned to her again, eyes dragging back to where they had been before. "How about the V.I.P suite on the top floor? That way, if anyone came to visit, there'd be plenty of room." He winked again before handing her the key to our room that I expected was going to cost me a fortune.

Her lips tipped up into a smile, but it wasn't that of a flirtatious smile. It was an…evil smile. "Perfect." She lead the way to the elevator, and pressed the button. Thankfully, no one else was on and we stepping in and started our way to the top.

The whole way up, Iggy held onto Nudge's shoulder tightly. Despite her complaints, he held tight, as if he's fall if he let go. "Elevators freak me out," he stated.

"But fighting creepy mutants and flying blind _don't_?" Andy questioned, hardly believing what she heard.

I shrugged lightly, now feeling the weight of Max's limp body on my still sore muscles. "He's a freak of nature." I was silently relived that she was better from the conversation we had earlier. As laughter filled the elevator, I briefly remembered that smirk Andy showed when talking to the desk clerk. What could she have possibly been thinking to make that smile seem almost out of her character?

**END! HAHAHAHA I love you, too. 3**

**Thanks For Reading! R&R**

**-Aly**


	12. C11: Creepy White Rooms and a Hotel Day

**Future History**

Chapter 9: Creepy White Rooms And a Day at a Hotel

**Felicity POV**

Boys. You can't live without them, but it's a sure fire way to lead to disaster. Once free from my cuffs, I slid down the examination table and watched it move itself across the floor and into a whole that opened up in the floor.

Whoa. Weird. Not to mention something you don't see every day, even if you are an Avian freak like us. But, on to more pressing matters.

"Guys!" I yelled again, hoping they would at least acknowledge the fact that I was free.

Nope, nothing.

Deciding that I was fed up with being ignored, I took a quick look around the room and noticed a two-way – or what I was assuming as so – mirror and seen that the collar the Eraser creep put on me was gone. I reached up to make sure I wasn't just seeing things and felt skin. Sweet!

Focusing on the boys' cuffs and various restraints, I commanded them to open, willing them to set the guys free like I commanded mine. Before Donte could finish what he was going to say, they both fell to the ground on their butts and watched dumbfounded as their own observation tables – or whatever the crap they were – did exactly as mine had.

"I swear to God, if these lunatics let an infectious, man-eating disease out into civilization…" Donte said, still watching where the floor ate the cold, silver tables as he stood.

"You'll _what_?" Malec asked, his voice still pretty harsh. He started to get to his feet as well. "Say 'Bad dog!' and expect their decomposing bodies to sit? This is _Resident Evil_, man, it's really happening."

"Hey, you watch those movies as much as I do," Donte countered.

"And you point?" Malec's gaze was challenging Donte, willing him to argue again.

Okay, time to break this up before it _really_ starts.

"Are you two going to argue, or are you going to thank me for setting you free?" I asked, my hands on my hips. I glared at them, letting them know I thought they were being completely ridiculous.

Of course, Donte's dumbfounded reaction was, "How did you…?" But he didn't even finish the sentence before realization appeared in his eyes. "You can use your powers."

I couldn't help it – I giggled. And that's something I try to save for rare occasions. (Granted, this situation we find ourselves in now honestly doesn't happen every day…) "You really are Captain Obvious today."

He rolled his eyes. "So, anyway, back to the situation at hand." He took a good look around the room. "Where's our escape route?"

I put my hands on my hips. "Did you really expect me to do everything for you?" I raised a brow at him, which he countered with a smirk and a wink when Malec's back was turned. I paused – where did that come from?

Malec walked cautiously toward the spot where the tables disappeared to. "Doesn't look like we'll be getting out that way, either. It doesn't respond to weight or heat of any kind."

"Maybe it's computer or, you know, _electronically generated_," I said very accusingly, trying to drop a hint.

Realization, as well as a knowing smirk, crossed his face. (He got it.)

Donte and I nodded to each other, knowing to keep an eye out while Malec did his thing.

My brother knelt down in the center of the room where the chairs disappeared, and placed his hand flat on the floor. He closed his eyes and relaxed, keeping his focus on the floor. Our backs were to him, keeping our ears and eyes open in case there were hidden cameras or something. Mom used to always say these people were full of surprises.

"It…looks like you're right, Felicity," he said, eyes still closed. "Everything in the building is on an electronic system, and all of the signals are being drawn toward one point."

I turned to him. "Can you follow it?"

He stood, shaking his head. "I'd have to focus to follow it. There's a lot of receiving and broadcasting; there's too much happening for me to just focus on the one point. If we even get out of this room, I'd have to stop and check if we were going the right direction every few feet."

I sighed. "So, what? You need to draw out a map? We're pretty short on drawing utensils."

"_Well, well, well. If they aren't awake?"_ The feminine sounding voice came from out of nowhere, scaring the crap out of me enough to make me yelp.

Searching for the source of the noise, the three of us kept our back to each other and huddled close, keeping on the defense. "Who's there?" Donte asked, looking for anything that looked like a microphone.

"_You will soon find that out, young ones,"_ the voice said tauntingly. _"For now, I must appreciate your efforts escaping the chairs. Now that I know the extent of your abilities we can begin preparations."_

"Preparations for what?" Malec said, him and Donte keeping a protective guard around me.

The feminine voice chuckled through the invisible speakers. _"In due time, young ones. For now, you will sleep."_

Just as the speakers broke out, green colored smog poured out from the creases in the floor.

"Gas!" Donte called, putting a hand over his mouth. "Hold your breath!" he said through his hand.

The smog crept down the walls and surrounded our feet. None of us said anything, not waking to rise letting our breath in. We estimated being able to hold our breath for about four to five minutes without causing severe damage to our lungs. But that was our absolute limit.

As a minute passed, each of our faces covered by our hands, we desperately searched for an exit. Using our sign language, I told Donte to keep is powers on a low profile.

His argument: If I don't do something now, we'll be at their mercy.

Three and a half minutes left.

As Donte took up a stance, preparing to use his powers, a sudden fit of coughs came from Malec.

We both whirled around, eyes wide with surprise and dread. Why? Malec inhaled some of the gas, and now he was likely to either pass out, or…

Malec fell to his hands and knees, coughing hard. I knelt in front of him so he could see my face. 'Don't breathe it in!' I sighed frantically. 'We don't know what it does!' I told him, but I already knew it was probably too late.

Two minutes left.

He shook his head, his coughs dumbed down to slight heaves. "I…barely took a…breath. Sorry.." he said before collapsing onto my shoulder, unconscious.

I looked pleadingly up at Donte, who looked about ready to punch something, and I wasn't sure if it was because they would actually do this, or if it was because it was happening to his best friend. His muscles tense, he closed his eyes and, after a few seconds of concentration, the heaviness of the smoke in the air slowly lifted. The green clouds rose high above our heads, now smothering the ceiling.

I shifted Malec in my arms so I could wrap one of his arms around my neck. I nodded to Donte, silently asking if it was okay to breathe. He nodded and I let out a long breath I had been holding a little too long. "That was close," I said, my breathing rapid and my heart pounded in my ears from the adrenaline.

"Less words," he said, giving me a look that backed up what he stated. Just to be safe, I took another deep breath and held it, hoping I wouldn't have to wait five minutes to take another one.

"_Not bad, G2.1D18, or as you call yourself in the outside world, Donte,"_ that feminine voice over the speakers said again. I didn't yelp this time, not wanting to take the chance. _"You are an exceptional experiment. Well groomed and very well trained. Who is teaching you? It's Experiment G2F13, isn't it? I just knew him and the others were going to cause trouble if they weren't kept under direct observation."_

My brows knitted together, looking at Donte in question. Mom and Dad? I mouthed, but he only shrugged. My guess was probably as good as his.

When neither of us said anything – Donte still focusing on keeping the smog off of us – the voice continued. _"Well, let's just see how you perform with Erasers advancing on you."_

Once seconds passed before about twenty, brute looking Erasers stormed in; from where is a good question because I don't remember a door ever being there. All of them attacked in groups. Sadly, for them, we were ready.

**Fang POV**

It's been nearly three hours since Max fainted and I rescued Andy from her near-death experience, putting the time at around 10:30 at night. Max was sleeping comfortably on the queen sized bed, her breathing even and slow. Gazzy and Iggy went down the street to buy some food, seeing as though the supposed "stocked" mini fridge only had protein bars, bottles of juice and water, and a small amount of fruit. Not enough to feed our Avian-Hybrid stomachs. Nudge and Andy went stealth to see if we were followed at all. I opted to staying put, so I could keep an eye on Max, as well as trying to figure out what was really happening all of a sudden.

How had the Erasers found our home? That though was immediately followed up by what Andy said back at the house: _"They were always watching, either from behind the tinted windows on the cars or their sunglasses. I was like they were waiting for something…"_ I guess that answers that question.

My next question is: Why are they coming out of hiding now? What exactly were they waiting for? I actually have the answer to that one, and I did when Andy said something earlier.

They were waiting for us, the Flock. They weren't waiting for the right moment to attack when the kids were the most vulnerable. Up until now, Max and I would take turns taking the kids to work, but because we got off work before school ended, they would meet us at work and we would go from there. And, just by habit, we would take a different route home each day. That is until I went to the school, and took Felicity with me. That not only lead them right to the house, but it also confirmed the kids were tied to Max and I.

I lead my kids and family into this chaos. Now I had to dig them out.

"Fang!" Nudge yelled, bursting through the door. I was alert, tense to guard my unconscious wife if need be. "Look who we found!"

She stepped out of the doorway, letting Andy guide Vanessa into the room by her shoulders.

My eyes widened a fraction of an inch, my muscles relaxing slightly. "Iggy isn't going to be happy about this."

Andy seemed to almost glare at me, like I said something insulting. "She has a much larger part in this than you think. We all do. Besides, she was just as worried about her friends as you are."

Vanessa tisked. "What Andy said. But, seriously, I want to help. Not that you're asking for it. Mom used to always say you never were the one to accept help easily." She rolled her sightless eyes, feeling her way around the room until she sat on the bed. (It still amazes me to this day how her and her father could do that.) Her eye brows etched together. "Who's laying here?"

I walked over to the fridge and reached for a water bottle. "Max," I answered, closing the fridge and walking back into the living room/bedroom area. "She over worked herself. We took up camp here and were heading out early morning."

A smile appeared on her face – not to mention it was one of those devious smiles. "So I guess I got there right on time then."

I glared. "Your father will not be happy that you are here, V." I figured there was no point in arguing. She was right: I'm not one to accept help, even though I don't see how she could help. But I knew there was nothing I could do to change that.

Andy decided to step in, sitting next to Vanessa. "How did you know where we were anyway?"

Vanessa tilted her head toward Andy, not fully turning toward her. "I used that orb that I can create to follow you." Andy didn't look questionable about her ability; she just nodded along as Vanessa told her story. "All I have to do is think of an object that was lost – in this case I thought about the chap stick Andy barrowed the other morning at school."

Nudge, having suddenly appeared interested in the conversation, said, "Couldn't you have just used your orb thingy to track – I don't know – a person?"

"Nudge," I said, voice warning. She knew by the look that I was giving her that she shouldn't encourage this conversation. Despite the look, however, she spoke up again: "But that doesn't explain why decided to follow us all the way out here, V. Iggy isn't going to like that his oldest daughter didn't stay put."

"What about my oldest daughter?" Iggy's voice came from the doorway, The Gasman right behind him. Speak of the Devil and he shall appear with his just as devious friend and groceries. They were both carrying a bag of various foods in each hand. Iggy's face held confusion mixed with an expression that didn't appear to seem too happy.

"Hi, Dad," Vanessa said almost nonchalantly.

Iggy's face suddenly turned red. He quickly, yet somehow calmly turned to the kitchen and said, "Vanessa, come here, please." Vanessa did as she was told, her face completely unreadable. (Let me point out now how amazing it is that both of them can find their way around the room so easily – and neither of them has been here long enough to memorize their surroundings.)

Gazzy was smart enough to make his own trip to the kitchen quick and hurry to the living room to join us. He sat on the couch, his back now to us, and flipped on the flat screen TV. I could almost feel my money slipping away. "Dude," he said once the TV was on to drown out the argument going on in the other room, "I'm so happy this is coming out of your pocket, because if they start throwing stuff like they did that one time, you're the one that pays up."

I rolled my eyes.

The rest of the night consisted of Iggy's fuming temper toward his daughter's disobedience – to which Nudge and I reminded him four times that he was just as bad at that age – and the sounds from the TV. Around midnight, everyone crashed and I took first watch. Iggy was in line for second watch and Gazzy for third watch. The girls took up the other bedroom/living room area, effectively using the split room that we were – or rather_ I _was – paying for. A half later, I left Max stir next to me.

"Max?" I called quietly, my voice at a whisper. I stocked her cheek, watching her face screw up in discomfort as she let out a soft groan. "Max," I called again, coaxing her to open her eyes.

"Fang…?" she said, cracking open one eye.

I smiled her favorite smile, one that is rare and only for her eyes. "Welcome back to the world of the living," I teased, kissing her softly.

She kissed me back just as gently, both eyes now looking into mine. "Where are we?" she asked, sitting up. He hand flew to her head, the response to the motion obviously not what she expected. "And why does my head hurt so bad?"

"You passed out, remember?" I rubbed the spot between her wings that relaxed her body. "We got you to a hotel in record time, seeing as though the rest of us were tired from the journey."

Another groan escaped her lips as she took in the room. Her eyes widened slightly. "And whose idea was it to rent out a room nearly as big as our house?" She looked at me, eyes searching for answers. "Are we paying for this, Fang?"

I almost flinched at her accusing tone. "Yeah, but we haven't been here long, so don't expect too much."

"How long have I been out?"

"Almost five hours," I said, stifling a yawn. She then seemed to remember something rather important; something that had a lot to do with a girl with no wings falling through the sky.

"What about Andy?" she asked hurriedly, glancing at me before searching the dark room for her.

I almost chuckled. Even after all these years she can still play Mother Hen to children who aren't hers. "She's fine. I caught her before she was in any real danger."

She relaxed into me again, me leaning against the headboard with her back pressed to my chest. I yawned, though my attempts to keep Max from hearing it failed. "Why don't you get some rest?" She turned slightly in my arms. "I'll take over the rest of your watch, and wake the next person for watch."

I nodded, a wave of darkness already claiming me at the mere mention of sleep. "Iggy is next watch," I said somewhat coherently. Not sure if the sentence even made sense, or if it came out like I wanted it too, but I didn't care at that point. I slid down on the bed so my head hit the pillow, Max wrapped in my arms close by. Sleep was quick to claim what was left of my consciousness. The last thing I remember is Max kissing my cheek as everything darkened around me.

**That's all I got for this chapter. I think the next one will be mostly Max and Fang and their attempts to enter the facility once the find it. Felicity and the guys' actions will remain anonymous until further notice. Lol I feel so professional when I say that. XD**

**Personally, I like the banter between Malec and Donte. I think it really shows that they are still kids and feel that their 'arguments' win over others.**

**Anyway, you know the drill!**

**Thanks For Reading! R&R**

**-Aly**


	13. C12: Unexpected Company

**This chapter is a little more action-packed than the other chapters. And I'm still struggling with my time placement, so if you notice it's off, please let me know. Thanks!**

**Future History**

Chapter 10 – Unexpected Company and The Great…Disappearance?

**Max POV**

As promised, I let Fang sleep and took over his watch, but not one part of my body was tired. I felt well rested and ready to get going. But I knew that I had to be patient and let the others get their very much needed sleep. I didn't, however, wake Iggy. He needed as much sleep as any of them. I didn't move too much in fear of startling Fang out of sleep. I simply stared into the darkness of the room/rooms, keeping an eye on every sleeping form I could see. I listened closely for their even breathing and Fang's steady heartbeat. I calculated it to be around 6:00 in the morning – give or take a half hour or so – and the gang was still sleeping. Seeing the son start to peek out from the corning of the curtains was making me anxious to get up and start moving. Carefully, I wiggled out of Fang's vise-like grip and stood up, stretching out all of my limbs. I strode to the kitchen, keeping very quiet, and found some food made up in the fridge. I ate it cold, not daring enough to use the microwave, and threw the paper plate away.

Waking back into the room, I heard something out of place. It was a thump from the hallway outside the room. I spun around and listened, keeping as quiet as possible.

_Thump._

That was enough to convince me that we were going to have unwanted visitors. Hastily, I gathered as much food as I could into my pack and Fang's, both of which were on the counter. Anything that I knew would spoil was thrown in and zipped closed. No point in keeping too quiet now.

Another _thump_ sounded, this time on the door itself.

Fang stirred and sat up, probably having heard the noise. He caught my eye and I put my finger to my lips and motioned toward the door. He nodded back and we both hurried to wake the others; I woke Iggy and Fang woke Gazzy. Iggy was as quiet as a church mouse waking Vanessa and the girls. He tapped the back of his daughter's hand three times, signaling her to stay close and stay quiet. Gazzy hurried and grabbed the rest of our bags and opened the balcony door. Once everyone was up, we made a dash for the door, but it was too late, there were Erasers there, too.

"Up and away as soon as you can!" I called out, breaking an extreme silence. After that, all hell broke loose. Erasers smashed through the front door, roaring in anger. I used my water ability to slow them down, but even at my current strength I couldn't keep them at bay for long. Erasers were all over the room, and more swarmed in by the minute. Each of us was keeping up our fights, taking on Eraser after Eraser. I put out the occasional fire – Thank you, Fang – so we didn't burn alive in this rather nice hotel. The girls, meaning Andy and Vanessa, were out of sight, so I'm going to assume that they did as I asked and took off. **[[Something should seem odd to you here. Something that was stated in earlier chapters… Hint Hint!]]**

Eventually, I grew tired of our play fighting and poured on the power. Summoning everything around me from the water in the faucet to the moisture in the air, I raised my hands high above my head and created a huge wave of water. I watched it build, waiting for the right moment to let it loose and wash most of the Erasers trying to get in through the balcony back out when I felt an Eraser close in behind me. Fang was quick to get rid of him, backing me up. I caught his gaze and flashed him a thankful glance.

Finally seeing my chance, I let it loose, pushing my arms out in front of me as if I was physically pushing the water away.

"Let's go!" I ordered, holding off the few Erasers that were left from tackling Iggy, Gazzy and Nudge as they flung themselves out the window.

I turned to Fang and seen him taking on three Erasers at once. I threw myself on the nearest one, attaching myself to his back. This is where you ask me "Max, why aren't you using your amazing powers to take him down?" Well, it takes a lot of energy to create that much water at one time. So, in an easy fight like this, there's no need for me to exert that much unnecessary energy. There's always a time and place to do things the old fashioned way.

The Eraser I tackled tried to fling me off, but I held on to his hairy forehead, and using as much force as I could, I brought my fist back and nailed him right where the skull meets the spine. I heard a loud _crack _and he fell to the ground, unmoving.

Just as I was about to turn and ask Fang if he was okay, I heard his pained cry ring through the air. Turning around, I seen a third and forth Eraser had come out of nowhere, all of them holding him still while one of them had its huge teeth deep in my husband's right arm. A thick, deep red liquid was already running down his clenched arm, his face screwed up in pain. The Eraser, whose teeth were deep in his skin, grinned. That alone fueled my anger.

Furious, I reached out with my hand, as if to reach out and grab the Eraser and focused hard on the water that made up 90% of his ugly body. As soon as I knew I had full control, I turned my wrist, like I would turn a door knob, and watched as the Eraser's face twisted in pain. His jaw slackened as his soulless eyes bored into mine before turning to lifeless orbs. He dropped to the floor, dead. **[[****This is pretty much the extent of Max's powers: being able to control the water in people's bodies. This is also probably the only time she will ever do this in the story, because it brings out an evil, uncontrollable side in her, like Fang and his 'anger issues'.]]**

Still seeing red, I reached out toward the next two Erasers with both hands, ready to do it again if necessary. "If you know what's good for you, you mutated dogs," I growled, not even aware that I voice could sound that way, "you'll let…my husband…go. Now!" I practically panting, my breath coming short due to rage and slight exhaustion.

With slight hesitation, other three Erasers let Fang go, taking shared glances at their dead companion before them. He stumbled on his feet toward me, his good hand clenching his wounded arm. I seem more Erasers start to pour through the door. In the blink of an eye, I snapped around, grabbed Fang by his shoulders and dragged him toward the balcony.

"Can you fly?" I asked hastily. I barely saw his nod before I pushed him out the window and jumped out after him.

"Max!" I heard Nudge call. The three of them jumped from the roof, following us out into the rising sun. I looked back at the balcony and seen a group of Erasers ready to jump, wings tense. To my surprise, the backed into the hotel and disappeared from sight. _A retreat? _I thought. _That's unlike them…_

"Oh, my God… Fang are you okay?" Nudge asked, spotting Fang's blood-soaked arm. She had a few scrapes and bruises, large and small, but other than that was fine. He only grunted in response.

I sighed, trying to contain the angry beast inside me, wanting more action that I refused to provide her. "One of them got a hold of his arm." I paused. "With his teeth."

Nudge gasped, holding a hand over her mouth.

"You okay, man?" Iggy asked, worry clear in his sightless eyes. His nose was bruised, he obviously took a lot of blows to the head, and a large gash on his forearm.

"'S nothing…" he groaned, but I can tell even this was killing him.

I glared at him. "It's not 'nothing'. We need to get that looked at, or at least wrapped."

Fang just stared ahead, his face distorted with pain and slight disagreement but he knew it was a losing battle. Gazzy pulled a towel from this pack and handed it to Fang, careful not to brush wings. Way to come to the rescue, Gaz! He was babying his own left arm, which probably suffered some damage. "Wrap this around it and put as much pressure as possible." Fang did as he was told.

I myself suffered only a few punches and kicks, those possible bruises I knew formed already healing; the major advantage to having a kickass power.

"Has anyone seen Vanessa?" Iggy asked, looking winded and slightly panicked. We all did a 360 degree in the air. (What can I say? We got talent.)

"Last I saw them they were bailing out the window," Nudge said, worry clear in her face as well. And before I could stop her from finishing her sentence, she said, "Just before the Erasers came in through the balcony again."

For someone with already pale skin, Iggy's face paled incredibly, tough even I could see the anger in his eyes from the distance I was at. Even his breathing was heavy and quick.

"You okay, Ig?" Fang asked through clenched teeth. We really did have to land before fang falls out of the sky this time.

"I told her to stay at home for a reason," he fumed. "Dangers like this aren't meant for a girl like her. I know how she feels – useless because of her blindness." His fists clenched tightly at his side. "I blame myself for the life style she has to live in order to survive; I hate being babied and protected by others. But she should have known this was too much for her to do. She could have gotten herself killed."

"Ig, we don't even know if the Erasers have her; she and Andy could have gotten away." Gazzy said, jumping into the conversation for the first time.

Iggy was quiet for a while. The rest of us communicated whether or not we seen the girls or not. As the sun rose to high noon, there was no sign of them. This was going to be one hell of a day.

**Fang POV**

While the others scouted the surrounding area for signs of Andy and Vanessa, I flew up higher in the sky with Iggy. My arm still hurt like hell, and I knew it would take a while for it to heal but the pain was almost unbearable. There was only one thing driving me to push myself to my limits: the kids.

"Hey," I said as I flew up to my best friend. He was hovering above a cloud, utilizing his ability to see things that were white. He closed his eyes briefly then turned his gaze slightly toward me.

"I can't see her anywhere above the clouds," he announced, sounding troubled. What father wouldn't when he realized his daughter was kidnapped? I felt his pain. "For once my ability to see white is completely useless."

I hovered close by, keeping a level with him. "She's okay, Ig; tougher than nails. I'm pretty sure she could take Malec in a fair fight." That made him smile lightly, but it faded quickly.

He sighed. "Sorry I'm acting selfish. I'm worried about Malec and Felicity, too, man," he reassured me.

I shrugged, already aware that he couldn't see it. "I acted the same way in the beginning. No hard feelings."

A tiny smile twitched on his lips and he held out his fist. A grin appeared on my own lips and I carefully pulled my hand away from my wounded arm and stacked my fist on his. As I pulled my hand back and replaced it on my pained right arm, Iggy frowned.

"Is it still bleeding?" he asked.

Just thinking about it seemed to make it throb. "Yeah, but not as much as before."

He didn't say anything, because I knew what he was thinking: wish I had our little healer of the group to at least make it stop bleeding.

My life-long best friend let his expression turn serious now. "How long do you think you can hold out?"

I looked up at him, knowing a plan was forming in that crazy head of his. "As long as I need to," I said. There wasn't anything holding me back from being risky now. "What do you have in mind?"

"We go after them," he said simply. I waited for more of an explanation, but that was it.

"Can you be a little more elaborate?" I asked. "That was our plan from the beginning, remember?"

He nodded, an evil grin slipping on his face. "But then I couldn't see the trail Vanessa left behind."

"What trail, Ig?"

The grin grew, making his glum expression dissipate. "The white trail Vanessa left behind using one of her orbs. I can see it like she can."

**CLIFFY! But, guess what? More will be on its way! So don't panic.**

**No, iggy don't have another power. He just focused on everything white and realized that Vanessa's orb leaves a trail of white behind that only his eyes could see. This is where their luck turns around, but how long will it last. Read up on the next chapter to find out!**

**Thanks For Reading! R&R**

**-Aly**


	14. C13: Making Our Own Entrance

**Future History**

Chapter Thirteen – Making Our Own Entrance

**Max POV**

"Everyone understand the plan?" I asked, keeping low in the bushes.

I got various nods from everyone, meaning Fang, Nudge, Gazzy and Iggy. Each of them had their packs strapped tightly to their backs, bent over the map I had drawn in the dirt with a stick. Nudge looked like she didn't want to do this at all, but was determined enough to go through with it. Iggy was leaning against a nearby tree, practically bouncing on his heels itching to get moving. Fang and Gazzy were calm, but I could tell they both wanted to get in on the action as well. This reminded me too much of the old times when we were teens.

"What's the plan once we're in there?" Nudge asked for I think the third time.

I rolled my eyes. "Nudge, we went over this, like, five times now. You can't seriously be asking that. Again."

She looked sheepish and shrugged. "Just want to make sure I know what I'm doing and when I'm supposed to do it. The last time Jack asked me to go to the store I forgot what store he wanted me to go to, not to mention I forgot everything he wanted. And I forgot my phone that day so – mph!" Fang slapped a hand over her mouth. The rest of us pretty much sighed in relief.

I used the binoculars Gazzy was thoughtful enough to pack before our hasty departure from home to look at the building closer up. You folks won't believe where this Itex was: in Death Valley. Yup, right in the same hidden place as the School was all those years ago. Oh, the horror of the irony of this situation was almost irritating.

There were Erasers everywhere, which was expected. The only thing that was really different was the obstacle course of barbed wire, land mines and machine guns to get through the front door. Not to mention the machine guns placed on all sides of the building with laser pointers each one. They have definitely come up with new ideas since we last encountered Itex. Fun, Fun.

"It looks like now is a good as it's going to get," I said, handing the binoculars to Fang so he could look.

"I'm 99.9% sure they don't know we are here."

"It's that .1% that could still get us killed," Iggy pointed out, but I couldn't tell if he was joking or serious.

"But they definitely know we are coming," Fang mumbled, lowering the binoculars and giving them back to Gazzy. "Security looks tight." His right arm still looked pretty bad, and he wasn't using it at all. I threw him worried glances, and I knew he knew I was worried, but he made a point to ignore those glances.

Gazzy took a look then put the viewing device back in his pack. "And it looks like each machine gun is pointing in a different direction than the other, meaning they got the air pretty much covered."

"And that they have cameras on watch," Iggy finished, standing up straight and making his way over toward us. "Not so much our forte. So, they could let out more Erasers if they feel it's needed."

"So, does that mean it'll be easy to get in and out?" Nudge asked, voicing the question I'm sure we were all thinking.

I sighed. "It's always easy getting in," I said, looking her in the eye. "Getting out is the hard part."

"All we need is a diversion. Just enough to get at least a few of them away from our entrance point." Fang put his good hand on a tree and looked up and around him. "And I think I know of one we could try."

Fang's plan? Yeah, not something I would have chosen. I mean, I knew from the beginning – from the moment I fell for him – that this guy was crazy. But, you know, things always excel past what you would expect from a person.

"U and A! Now!" I ordered, nodding to Fang. His plan worked; the Erasers from the building started our way. Before we broke through the trees, Fang used his ability to turn himself – and us – invisible.

The semi-forest fire did a great job distracting the bulk of the Erasers while we flew right over them; the best part was they had no idea we were there. Taking advantage of our disguise I said, "Okay, to get inside we're going to create a door."

"Um…" Iggy piped in, "correct me if I'm wrong, but don't we usually turn on the stealth for getting in. Say, like, _invisibility_? You know, rather than busting a whole in the side of the building?"

I nodded. "You're right, but today is different."

"How do you figure?" Gazzy asked.

"Today we need the attention on us for a reason."

"And why is that?" Iggy asked.

I groaned. "You two never change. Were you listening to me explain the plan to Nudge six times?" I asked, trying to keep my voice down.

Unfortunately, my noise level raised and the Eraser's heightened senses picked up my voice and they started gravitating toward us. I sighed, and whispered, "We need the attention on us so the kids know we're here."

"What good will that do?" Gazzy whispered harshly. "They don't know where we'll be, and we won't know where they are."

I sighed. "Look, Gaz. We went into this plan knowing one thing: we will be captured. It's the only way to get an idea of where they are."

He huffed. "And what if they decide to kill us on the spot rather than trying to take us back inside."

I looked at Fang, he nodded. "When I was talking to Andy the other day, she said something interesting. She said when the Erasers came to the school every day, but they never attacked; it was like they were waiting for some kind of confirmation.

"Normally, when we drop off the kids, it's either Max or I do it. But when I dropped off Felicity's book that – for whatever reason – put their plan into action and jumped at Felicity when she was alone."

"So, this was a trap," Nudge said slowly, putting it all together in her head.

He nodded. "They were smart enough to lay low and wait."

"Which makes a valid point that it wasn't the Erasers working alone on this one," Gazzy said, putting all of the pieces together.

"That should have been obvious," Nudge said with a knowing smile. I was happy she was back to normal.

"So…that's the plan?" Iggy said a little too loudly. "I understand that you two have some crazy death wish, but-"

Erasers heard us again, this time being able to pinpoint out location.

I inwardly groaned. "I think you're the one with a death wish, loud mouth!" I yelled, being a complete hypocrite. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a lazar point on my right shoulder as I was looking over at Iggy to yell at him. Then, it felt as if everything happened all at once.

"Max!" Nudge yelled. "They're all over you!"

"Max! Dive!" Fang yelled as he folded in his wings, letting himself lose altitude.

"Scatter!" I ordered, barely missing shots from those machine guns that had a lock on me. And with that I launched myself at the closest Eraser – unbeknownst to him – and barreled him into the wall of the huge building. He spiraled down toward the ground almost a couple hundred feet in the air. That's would go to hurt. As he fell, I noticed the force of my 'little push' made a crack in the wall. If that didn't get their attention, I don't know what will.

"Fang!" I called, spotting him just as he socked one Eraser in the face. I flew up to him, dodging another Eraser as I went. "Use your flame to heat the wall."

Before he could respond the nearest machine gun spotted us and fired, nearly nicking me on cheek.

"Nudge! Take care of those machine guns, will ya?" She nodded and used her ability to bend and control metal to crumple it to pieces.

Turning back to Fang I seen he was already at work heating the wall. He was ever the productive one. Still worried about his arm, I watched his back, just a reminder for the years he watched mine. We were now back to back, his opponent the wall, mine the occasion Eraser that dared challenge me. Sadly, though, they were drastically growing in numbers.

"Today would be great," I said over my shoulder, bracing myself to defend Fang's back as two Erasers took me head on. "You know, before the try ripping me apart."

Fang groaned. "I'm…trying." His arm was, believe it or not, still gushing crimson red blood when every movement of his arm. And to make things worse, he was using both hands, holding both out in front of him to spew out fire, so is to pour on the heat. "Almost there… Done!" Without another word, we switched rolls, me taking my turn at the wall as he watched my back. As soon as I brought on the water from the air around me and splashed it onto the red-hot wall, it gave a horrid hissing noise and steamed. You know what they say: fight wall with fire and water!

"Gazzy! Iggy! Flank me!" Fang called, slamming into an Eraser that tried to take me from the side. It didn't take long for them to arrive, but the other three – meaning Gazzy, Iggy and Nudge – appeared, back up both me and Fang.

It wasn't long – thank God! – before my part with the wall was coming to a close and our plan getting into the building was coming to a conclusion as well. "Thirty seconds!" I called. Out of nowhere I saw a knife coming hurling toward the side of my head. My adrenaline kicked into overdrive and I ducked faster than I ever knew I could. The sad part is, the knife didn't fly past my head like it was supposed to. Instead, I hovered in mid-air – via metal controlling ability – before Nudge sent it flying right back at him. Poor guy didn't even have time to react.

I mouthed a 'Thank You' to her.

Time was up. Let's blow this place open.

"Iggy!" I called, seeing him stop in mid-flight to listen.

"What?" he called back, avoiding another Eraser that threw a punch at him. (Still don't know how he does that.)

"Let's see if any of these nit-wit dogs can play a part in our entrance!"

Iggy smirked; he knew what I was thinking, and I think he liked the idea.

**Valencia (Dr. M) POV**

I knew Iggy wasn't going to be too happy when he realized I let Vanessa and Andy slip out of my sight. I knew she's one I need to keep my eye on, but with everyone else frantic about the resent attack on our family, I had my hands full.

Today, we were heading toward the agency, the one that was created to keep abandoned Mutants safe from harm; the one that I worked for on the side from my veterinary practice. I of course kept in touch with the girls I worked with twenty years ago when we created the island for Max and the kids – I'm sorry, the Flock – and I asked them to meet me here in hopes that they could help us. I had the younger kids with me – Tyler, Natalia and Daniel – as well as Jack, who was being helped through the door by Frank, Ella, and Alexis. Chevelle and Emmett took the opportunity to stay hidden and followed closely behind.

"Valencia!" someone called when we stepped through the double doors. I had Tyler on my hip and at least two baby bags on the other shoulder. I snapped to my right and seen my long-time friend, Mary –Ann. She had short brown hair that had greyed like mine over the last twenty years, her grey-blue eyes twinkling with joy.

She excused herself from a group of people and quickly made her way over.

"Mary-Ann! It's been too long, my friend." I set Tyler on the floor, who clung to my leg, as I wrapped her in a hug.

"Way to long, Val," she said smiling once we broke from our embrace. Her gaze fell on the broken family behind me; I'm sure the sight of Jack's condition sent up a red flag that something was wrong. "I know this isn't the whole family. Where's your ever-cautious daughter and son-in-law?"

"We have a lot to talk about." My face was serious, as was my voice. She just nodded and said, "Follow me, all of you. The others are waiting in the Meeting Hall on the 10th floor."

As I picked up Tyler, Alexis – having just hiked Daniel's diaper bag back on her shoulder – spoke up and said, "Tenth? I didn't think this building was that high. It only looked to be about three floors."

Her eyes where full of wonder when I turned back to the group and said, "That's right, my dear. But we're not going ten stories above the ground." I smiled when all of their expressions – minus Ella's who now works with the company as I do now – turned to pure confusion. Mary and I ushered everyone to the nearest elevator that said 'Members Only' on the side. So, to actually use the elevator, Mary had to swipe her card for access. Then, once inside the hugs elevator, Mary had to present her thumb print to a scanner on the wall. It was all very high-tech.

"Wow. Security seems pretty tight around here," Jack grunted through his medicine-induced haze.

I threw a smirk over my shoulder. "Can't be too careful."

Upon reaching the 10th floor almost half a mile below the surface, Mary led us down a long hallway. I noticed that Frank was being escorted by the medical team to carry Jack to the medical ward down another hallway. I watched over my shoulder as the others looked around in wonder at the metallic, smooth walls and many, many closed and open doors. Max always hated it down here. Obviously because it seemed so much like the life she lived as a child. Also because there were no easy exit point. Not unless she could suddenly walk through the earth.

When we reached the Meeting Hall, There was a gasp and a high pitched voice calling my name. "Val! Heaven, help me… It is you!" Before I could set Tyler to her feet again, Lilly-Ann – Mary-Ann's twin sister – rushed up to me and threw her arms around me. She always was the more energetic one. "Val! Val! How have you been? It's been years since we heard from you! I was so excited when Mary told me you were coming back down here!"

I smiled and hugged her back, practically prying her off of me to look at his gently wrinkled face. "Lilly-Ann, it's been a month or so since I've been here, remember? I still work here."

"But we work in different section so much I never get to see you!" she argued. "And those video-chats from across the building doesn't count!"

I laughed again, and then turned back to Frank as he was re-joining our tour group. "Frank, you remember Lilly-Ann?"

Frank nodded, smiling. "Nice to see you again, Lilly-Ann."

She smiled brightly at everyone. "It's nice to see and meet you all!"

Mary-Ann rolled her eyes. "Lilly, you've met everyone already once. Your memory is slipping, sister."

Lilly scowled at her sister for a moment. "Don't be mean, Mary! How was I supposed to remember the last time we've met? It was probably so many years ago."

I chuckled, deciding to bite my tongue from saying she actually met them all a year ago when I introduced them at the Christmas party. Yes, government organizations have work parties, too.

Mary scuffed. "You're such a twit, Lilly." She sighed and directed her attention anywhere but her twin sister. "Anyway, let's get this stated." Once seated, she got right down to asking questions. "So, what happened?" the question was universal, but her eyes were on me.

"A large group of Eraser freaks attacks us and kidnapped our children," Ella said, pushing a piece of Natalia's dark brown hair behind her ear. "Our older children, anyway. My sister and the Flock went after them and-"

"Wait," Lilly interrupted, looking both really happy and confused at the same time. "The Flock – the _original_ Flock itself – is back in action?" she asked happily, almost squealing. "Oh, this is a day to remember – the Flock is out there, back in the battle field doing what they were born to do…!" She seemed to go off in another world somewhere…though that was normal for her.

Alexis nodded. "But they're in trouble, so we came here hoping you could help. Daniel was asleep in his mothers' arms, but she looked tired.

"And we will," Mary assured her, pulled a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We have technology no other government has to track them anywhere, so can find them and send help."

"Cool," Tyler said from the seat on my left, having pulled his thump from his mouth to say only that.

"Where's mommy?" I heard Faye ask warily. But she wasn't in the seat on my right anymore. She was now standing close to Chevelle, who was bent down next to her. I noticed Faye seemed to have a strange attachment to Felicity's friends, and I couldn't put my finger on why.

"That brings up my second question," Lilly said, suddenly coming out of her trance like someone flipped a switch. "Who are these children?" she asked, motioning toward Chevelle and Emmett who refused the seats and stood near the door listening. "They don't resemble any of you, nor do they look like any of the Flock."

"They are friends of Felicity and Malec. They go to their school and were the ones to notice that Erasers were tracking their school activity," I explained.

The twins looked thoughtful.

"How could they notice something like that?" Mary asked. "They are only children."

"You would have to possess keen scenes and a strong knowledge of their existence to know that they were following," Lilly observed, serious now. "From our studies in past documentaries, we found they were actually very smart and knew how to blend in pretty well – and we suspect they are still just as smart."

"We know the Itex better than you think," Chevelle said, taking a side step away from Faye. Her eyes were focused but never left Lilly or Mary. Slowly her body structure shifted and morphed into that of a tiger. Her eyes now had that cat formation to them, every detail of a tiger in her appearance. Faye didn't hesitate to hurry closer to Chevelle, as if for protection, and buried her face into the tiger's fur. Then Emmett slowly reached up to remove his hat from his head, revealing his auburn fox ears. His eyes seemed to change, as well.

I glanced back at the girls and saw their shocked reactions. "They weren't experimented on as children," I said, having an idea of what they were thinking.

Chevelle's tiger-eyes cut to me, and was surprised myself when her voice flowed from the tiger's slightly opened mouth. "How do you know about where we're from?"

I quickly got over my shock. "Because my division focuses solely on keeping an eye on Itex activity."

Emmett snorted, putting his cap back in place. "Much good that seemed to do."

"Emmett!" Chevelle scolded, still in her animal form.

Well, so far today, we've gotten nowhere on information about who took my grandchildren, my own kids have left to save the world yet again, and there's an angry tiger in the room. This was going to be a long day…

**Well, that's how I'm ending chapter 11. Why? Because I didn't know where else to go with Valencia's POV, lol. There might be more of Dr. M's POV later on, but that may depend on how quickly I want this story to finish up. **

**Anyway, I'm just happy it's up. I hoped you liked it!**

**Thanks For Reading! R&R**

**-Aly**


	15. C14: A Birthday Gift and then Taken

**Future History**

Chapter Fourteen: A Birthday Gift and then Taken

**Felicity POV**

Well, it's safe to say that our escape plan very nearly worked. Yes, we – meaning Donte and I with Malec in tow – got past the Erasers that swarmed in after that weird lady over the speakers cut out. No, we didn't get very far.

The only real set back was when an Eraser managed to sneak up behind me and get the damned control collar around my neck. Again. Not to mention the fact that I was in the middle of using my power, which of course sent violent shocks through my body. Brutal…

Donte, having heard my cry of pain, lost his focus and a collar was snapped around his neck, too. Just great, right? He wasn't too happy about it either; he went down throwing punches and kicks as several more Erasers dragged us down another hallway and into a large storage room.

All of that was about twenty-four hours ago. Now we were sitting in the infamous dog creates my parents used to always talk about. We were pondering ideas to get out of here. So far, we haven't come up with much. Since we've been in here, they've taken Donte away to another room. And brought him back in a heap of blood and torn clothes. He had a fractured leg, lots of scrapes and bruises, a broken finger, a split lip, and a healing black eye. They now had Malec back there, and he's been gone for what feels like hours. And I'm pretty sure I was next.

"Maybe we could gnaw on the bars?" I suggested, not actually having an interest in putting my face anywhere near the bars on the cage. "Sure, it would take us a while, but we could manage."

Donte snorted. "Come on, Felicity. This is serious."

I shrugged, letting my mind drift to other things. Yeah, bad idea. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, when you have a power that lets you move things with your mind, you tend to let it loose without realizing it. And then you're shocked by the damn control collar.

I let out a scream of surprise and fell back against the floor of the cage.

"Are you okay?" Donte asked, hands gripping the bars of his cage. "Try not to think about your power."

I sighed. "This was supposed to go so differently…" I said, frustration and sadness in my voice.

He nodded, the shadows from where the dim lighting didn't reach danced on his handsome face. Wait… You didn't just read that.

"I'm sorry," he said after a few minutes of silence. "I should have gotten that bastard while I had the chance. I let my guard down and let him capture all of us." His eyes met mine, and I could almost feel his sadness. "I'll make it up to you. I promise."

I was thankful for the shadows that hid my blush. What was with that? Why did my heart flutter when he talked to me like that, like he actually had…feelings for me?

"I… You don't have to do anything like that," I said, looking away for a minute. When I found his eyes again, he was still watching me. Not in a creeper way, but in a way that made my blood pump faster through my veins.

"I got you something," he said, smiling lightly.

My eyes widened slightly. "How? Where did you manage to get me something? Is there a gift shop around the corner that I don't know about?"

He chuckled. "No. I got it for you for your birthday." He leaned back, disappearing into the darkness for a minute before immerging again, holding up the most beautiful necklace I had ever seen. I wasn't one to like all of the frou-frou cute stuff my younger sister did, but this necklace was…perfect. It had a small sky-blue heart, a silver shopping bag, and a tiny, silver Eiffel Tower; all hanging from a silver chain. **[[Pic on my Profile.]]**

"I know your actual birthday isn't until tomorrow – I think. I was going to give it to you before all this happened, but…you know." He actually sounded nervous about this. It was pretty cute. "I don't know if you like it, but it was kind of last minute."

My eyes widened, a huge smile spreading on my face. "Donte! It's beautiful!" At this point I wish I could hug him tight and let his own special scent of fresh air wash over me. He smiled a special smile that I loved and put it back in its hiding place. "That definitely makes up for this horrible situation we're in. Thank you," I said sincerely.

I could have sworn a smirk passed over his face, but I could barely see it from where he sat. "That's not how I was going to make it up to you," he said softly. That time I'm sure he saw my blush, because he laughed, lightly up the room with his silky laughter.

We drifted into a comfortable silence, and while keeping my powers under control, I thought about what had happened back on the island – where our plans went horribly wrong. You see, Donte and the others were supposed to get there and help me take out the filthy jerk, Thresh. Then we were going to use the tracker on the chopper to direct us to Itex. However, I wasn't counting on two things. One, Thresh wrapping that…poor excuse for fashionable jewelry around my neck, and two, my dad getting there so quickly. Both events kind of put a dent in our plans. I had to watch as my father was beaten to a blood pulp, and watch as Thresh used his power to inflict pain upon my defenseless father. Just thinking about it nearly brought a tear to my eye. I was powerless then, just like I'm powerless to save my brother from the same treatment they inflicted on Donte.

Suddenly, the door flew open, hitting the wall with a huge _bang_. One of them had Malec's mangled body thrown over his shoulder. My eyes widened. "Malec!"

He was thrown roughly into the cage in front of me, forcing it to hit mine with a loud _clang_. "Felicity…" I heard him groan. His voice sounded so weak; it made me sick to my stomach.

I put my hand on his arm through the bars, shaking him lightly. "Malec! Egv ouy yaph?" I asked frantically in the language our parents developed during their childhood. That's when I saw it – the very thing that could get us out of here. It was something so simple, it was almost laughable.

"Take him." I dragged my eyes from Malec and watched as the Erasers advanced on Donte, who was crouched down like he was going to pounce (which would have definitely been a sight to see with his hurt leg).

"No!" I yelled as the reached for his cage. "Take me!"

"Felicity, no!" Donte yelled, eyes glaring hard at me, giving me the don't-you-even-think-about-it look. But the beasts were already facing me with interest.

I ignored Donte, challenging the Erasers with my eyes. "Take me instead. He's no use to you if he can't even stand. I'll give you a better fight than he will."

"Felicity! Don't-" One of the Erasers kicked his cage, forcing him to lean away from the bars.

"Oh, shut up!" it growled. "We're just gunna play around with your girlfriend over there. No harm in that, right?" it taunted, making even my skin crawl at the thought.

"Are you sure it's okay?" one Eraser asked the one taunting Donte. "Maybe the boss would want to do…that now rather than later. He did say he wanted her in perfect condition."

The other smirked. "Good point. Let's go."

I gaged and almost threw up in my mouth. What in God's name were they talking about? What was 'that', and why didn't I like how it sounded coming from their worthless mouths?

Donte shook the cage bars with such a force that I thought they might actually bend, anger showing in every part of his demeanor. The beasts stalked toward my cage, making me instinctively back away. They opened my cage and reached for me, but before they could, I flung myself at them, knocking them both on their asses in surprise. I ran to Donte's cage while they were down, putting my arms through the bars.

"Felicity! Get out of here! Run!" he urged me, trying to push my out. I held tight to him, refusing.

"Malec can get you out," said in a low whisper.

His eyes flicked over to Erasers finally recovering from their tumble. "What are you talking about? Get out of here! Don't worry about us."

I smiled. I don't know what possessed me to do what I did next – maybe it was knowing that I'd probably never get another chance. I pulled his face to the cage bars, and placed my lips to his, feeling how warm and soft they were on mine. Donte looked as shocked as I was, but quickly melted into the kiss and held me there with his good hand. Sadly, the Erasers interrupted. They tore me from Donte who tried to grab my hand but it slipped.

I yelped as the Eraser grabbed me by the collar and slammed me to her chest, my back to him. "Let's go, sweetie. We have a surprise for you," he snarled in my ear.

"Felicity! Fight!" Donte called.

"Wake Malec, Donte!" I called over the Erasers shoulder, twisting around. "Donte!" I tried to squirm around enough to see him before they dragged me away. "I'll be fine. Wake Malec!"

The door slammed shut before I could say anything else. All I could do now is pray that he understood what I was trying to say.

**Donte POV**

"Malec! Wake up!" I called for, like, the tenth time in the last two minutes. That's how long they've had Felicity, and that's how long it could take to kill her. "Damn it, Malec! Do you really want those pigs using your sister as a punching bag, or worse?" I shook whatever horrible thoughts from my mind. There's no way I was letting that happen. "Now, wake up!" I shook the bars of my cage, making as much noise as I could.

Finally, I heard him groan and shift. "Don…te…?" And who said I couldn't be a motivational speaker?

"Malec," I said, my voice a little more calming. I clenched the bar, trying to see his form, but it was cloaked behind the dark shadows. "Hey, buddy. What happened?"

He shifted up, causing him to wince. He leaned against the bars so he was now in the dim lighting. To my horror, he was covered in blood, and he had cuts on his face and arms – well, they were all over his body, really. The white clothes we all had on had tears everywhere and blood still dripping from his right arm. That seemed to be where most of his wounds were – it looked like his arm went through a cheese grater. "Less jus' say…they brought a knife to a fis' fight," he said, words slightly slurred. He ripped off what was left of his shirt and skillfully wrapped and tired it around his shredded arm. "Lots of knives."

I growled and kicked the door to my cage, wishing it would open so I can get the hell out of here. Unfortunately, the motion jolted my still fractured leg, and I hissed in pain.

"Relax," Malec said. "We can't do anything from here. The three of us need to just rest and wait for them to come back. Then maybe, when they open our cages, we could-"

"They took Felicity," I blurted out, still rubbing my sore leg.

Even in the dark surroundings, I could see Malec stiffen. "What?" I cringed at the pitch of his voice. He was pissed, to say the least. "I told you to watch her, Donte!"

"What the hell do you want me to do about it, Malec?" I yelled back. "It's not like I could summon a chain saw to get out of here and kick ass! I was just as trapped as she was!"

He snorted. "And when has an obstacle ever stopped you?" he said accusingly, glaring at me. "Why didn't you take her place – did you want them to take her?"

"_She_ took _my_ place!" I almost screamed, completely frustrated with his attitude. Was he really blaming me? When he didn't say anything, I said more calmly, "_She_ offered to take _my_ place because she knew I couldn't even walk. I tried to stop her but she's just as stubborn as you. I can't believe you seriously think I wanted them to take her from me. Before they took her, she-" I stopped abruptly. Was I really going to tell him what had happened while he was out? I must really did have a death wish.

He raised a brow. "She…what?" He was obviously suspicious, but I wasn't ready to tell him I kissed his sister. That was suicide.

I shook my head. "She said to wake you; that you could help us get out."

His eye brows scrunched together in confusion. Even behind that mask he put up to hide his emotions, I could see how exhausted he was. "What did she mean by that?"

"I don't know. Did they drop a key in your cage or something?" It wasn't likely, but anything is possible now-a-days.

He reached his hand around the cage, searching for anything that could be used to get us out of here. After a few seconds, he slumped against the bars again and hissed in pain from moving so much. "I couldn't find anything; my cage is empty."

I sighed and nearly slammed my forehead against one of the bars. Disappointment swept through me, and I tried to veer my thoughts away from what could be happening to Felicity.

"_We're just gunna play around with your girlfriend over there."_ The Eraser's words repeated over and over in my head, making me want to break something. Damn I hate being useless – especially if I have a power that could easily get us out of these cages!

I used my raptor vision to try and search the perimeter around Malec; to try and see what Felicity seen. Once my eyes caught Malec's mangled appearance, I saw it. Or lack thereof.

I lifted my head from the bar, my eyes wide; I almost couldn't believe what I was seeing.

"Malec…where's your control collar?"

**:::**

**Sorry about the short chapter. It was originally 6 pages – rather that the current 5 pages – but somehow managed to expend to 11 pages. (I don't know how that happened. Not the sarcasm.) So, it gave me an extra chapter for next time. **

**Here's the deal: I'm going on vacation over the weekend, so I'm updating today and won't be back till Monday. However, I have time tomorrow before I leave, I will update again, or maybe even update again tonight. Deal? Good.**

**Well, you know the drill, people!**

**Thanks For Reading! R&R**

**-Aly**


	16. C15: Nothing But the Pain

**Future History**

Chapter Fifteen: Nothing But the Pain

**Felicity POV**

"Where are you taking me?" I said the Eraser pushing me down a hall. They managed to bind my arms behind me back (much to my dislike) when they dragged me away from Donte. One Eraser in front of me turned to look over his shoulder. The look in his eyes was mixed with hatred and…sexual intentions. Shudder.

"Thresh has something special planned for you three," he snarled, showing his huge, hideous wolf teeth. "But I'm sure he'll appreciate testing it on you first." I swallowed hard, but made sure I never showed my fear.

We walked past countless rooms with closed doors – I swear I heard a blood curdling scream come from one room. I tried to push that though away, trying not to think about what could be going on in each room. Obviously, I failed.

We finally stopped in a room with what looked like an operating table with several tools and torture instruments. I'll say that up until I laid eyes on the contents of the small room, I stayed calm and let them take me wherever. Yeah, not so much anymore. They grabbed me before I made it back out the door. I kicked, screamed, struggled – did anything I could to get away. No luck. The hold on my neck from earlier returned with the vengeance, effecting cutting off any air getting to my lungs. I eventually had to stop struggling to focus all my energy on trying to breathe.

They slammed my face down on the metal table and I heaved in much needed air. They got my arms and legs strapped down in my weakened state, restraining any of my movement. I came out of my daze quickly, immediately struggling against my restraints. I tried moving my wings, but they were tied down tight to the table.

You'll never believe what they did – the just laughed and walked out! Just like that! WTF?

"Hey! Where the hell do you think you're going?" I demanded, yelling at the top of my lungs. "Why the hell did you strap me to a table then leave?"

The only response I got was the door being slammed shut.

Filthy bastards.

"Hello! I know someone's there!" I call to no one in particular. Then I see a two-way mirror. I glare at it. "What are you planning? Why am I strapped to this God-forsaken table? What do you want from us? Haven't you taken enough?" Silence answered me.

I groaned, but continued to glare at the mirror. Then, the two-way mirror turned to a… I don't know what, but I could see through it like it was glass. And what I saw was…well, horrifying.

On the other side of the mirror was two scientist with clip boards, faces blank. Then there were three Erasers behind them. Why were the Erasers on that side of the mirror you ask? Well, that's because they were holding my parents at gun point.

"Mom! Dad!" I cried, happy that they came for me, but terrified that they'd get hurt – or worse.

"Felicity!" my mom called, flinching toward me like she wanted to burst through the glass. "Honey, are you okay?"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Did I look okay? "Yeah. But Malec and Donte…" Do I tell them now? I tell them why we're here? Or do I wait?

My mother's eyes grew hard, but her gaze was on the Eraser stepping closer and holding the gun in her face. I started to wonder why they didn't just blow the Erasers away with their powers when I realized they had collars on. Damn.

My dad stayed quiet. I could see him surveying his options of escape, but he seemed to come to the conclusion that it was virtually hopeless.

"Subject G5F4!" a White Coat called through the speaker in the glass. I glared at him, though that didn't seem to do me any favors. "Tell us how you managed to get two other experiments in the facility, and we won't hurt them."

My eyes narrowed more. "I don't know what you're talking about." That means Vanessa and Andy are here. I knew how they got in the facility – it was part of the plan – but I was starting to wonder how they got in here under my parent's radar.

The man watched me for a moment, before turning toward the Eraser point the gun at my mom and nodded. The Eraser smirked and cocked the gun, ready to fire it. Before my Dad could move, an Eraser wrapped a hairy arm around his neck and held another gun to his head. My mom was frozen where she was, watching the gun as it stared back at her.

"No!" I screamed. "I swear, I don't know what you're talking about! Please, stop. Don't hurt them. Do whatever you want to me, but don't hurt them. Please…" I begged, tears threatening to spill from my eyes. Wow, I was being very emotional today. I must be allergic to bullshit.

My mom's eyes bugged out when she heard what I said. "Felicity, baby, no. We'll be okay."

"Don't say another word, Felicity," my dad choked through his restraint on his neck.

The White Coat motioned for the Eraser to lower his gun – he didn't look happy about it, but he complied. "You would risk your life knowing they would be killed any way. Interesting…" he muttered, both scientists writing on their clip boards.

"Shows over," said a grueling voice as the door suddenly burst open. Thresh stormed his way over toward the table. I could feel his eyes studying my tired down body like a piece of fresh meat. It disgusted me in every way imaginable.

I heard my dad growl behind the glass. He pulled against his captor, trying to get through the glass, but clearly was making no progress. "That's the bastard that attacked Felicity in the field."

Mom didn't look too happy either.

Thresh smirked at my parents. "I'm glad I not have you're blessing for what's about to happen, Mom and Dad."

My mom glared. "What are you will never have any kind of blessing from us, you filthy bastard." I had called them that earlier; great minds think alike. "You're about to witness the latest surgery in your history, freaks."

A scream burst past my lips at the mention of surgery as I was tired to a surgical table. _I had asked for this,_ I thought. _I told them to hurt me, and that's exactly what they were going to do._

"You son of a-"

"Please, let her go. She's still a child."

My parents' pleas were ignored as another scientist entered the room. He was fully dress in scrubs and a surgical hat and mask. Three nurses came in behind him. When they see my exposed wings, each of them gasped. They acted like they'd never seen a winged kid strapped to a table before.

"Hurry!" the doctor barked at the nurses, making them jump. He glanced at me, sorrow in his eyes. "We need to get this done and leave; this place makes me sick."

I felt more tears roll down my cheeks. My dad taught us to suck up our tears and put on a brave face. I never thought I'd be here, having to actually put his good advice to use. I let a whimper escape my lips.

"Morphine," the doctor called from the nurse. Him and one nurse were on my right, while the other two nurses and two Erases stood on my left where I was facing my parents horrified face.

"No," I heard thresh say. He was also on my right where the doctor was. "No morphine."

"You can't be serious," the doctor exclaimed. "Without the morphine she'll feel everything; she could die from the pain."

Another whimper left my lips. _Pain is only the message,_ I said. _Pain can't reach you if you run from it. It's only a message._

"Do you think I care?" Thresh hollered. He may not be in his wolf form, but his voice was still pretty scary. "All I want done is the procedure. You are here as the Director's guest, but you will not leave here until you do as I ask. Then you can live out your happy lives one million dollars richer."

So, that's why he was here; for the money. Not because he'd have a chance to play with my insides. That was okay (in a way). He wasn't here to gloat that he experimented with an Avian-human hybrid.

I watch my parent's distraught faces as I spoke to the doctor. "I-It's okay, doctor," I said in a very weak voice; it almost didn't sound like my voice at all. I couldn't see his face, but I still felt his shock at the fact that I could talk. "I understand. I don't need the morphine. Just please…" I closed my eyes, fear ripping through my body as I said, "Get it over with."

There was a pause, and then I felt a warm hand clench over my own clenched one. I looked up at the nurse on my left. She gave me a sad reassuring smile, bending down in front of me so I could see her face. I tried to smile back, but I'm 99% sure it came out as a grimace. "It's going to hurt, but focus on me, okay?" she said in a sweet, gentle voice.

I heard a loud ripping of fabric as the back of my white shirt fell open. The doctor gave a big sigh. "First incision." And Then I felt pain explode in my back between my wings. Every part of my body tensed up. I bit my lip to keep from screaming.

"Look at me," the lady said, placing his hand on my cheek now, stroking my face. "Look at me," she commanded. I did, but I could barely see her through my tears. "Deep breaths, baby girl. You'll be okay. Watch my eyes and breath."

I did as she asked, focusing on her dark green eyes. As the doctor continued cutting a whole in my back, I tried hard not to move. I could already feel my wrists and ankles grow raw from rubbing at the metal clamps. I looked up at my parents; they were both fighting hard against the Erasers holding them back, both of them calling my name and yelling profanities that even I'm ashamed to mention.

I let out another piercing cry as the guy with a knife cut deeper, my eyes screwed tight in pain.

"Hold on, baby girl; that was the last one. He's almost done," the nurse soothed. "Look at me, honey. Watch me."

I tried but had to flinch every time I felt him move his fingers on my exposed, tender flesh.

It felt like hours I was on that table, enduring pain that could never be describable. A couple of times, the other nurse on my left offered to switch places with the nurse holding my hand, but she refused each time. I grew used to the pain and ignored it. I talked to the nurse a few times; she told me about her home and her bouncy little dog.

"D-do you…have any..k-kids?" I shakily asked her.

Her face fell, but she shook her head. "No, honey, I don't. But I have an adoring husband. He's an electrician back in Detroit."

I sniffled, feeling another large pang of pain, but it was nothing complained to earlier. "W-Where's that…?"

"Detroit?" she asked, and I nodded. "It's in Michigan; it's kind like New York. It's loud and crazy. Have you ever been to New York?" she asked, squeezing my hand to reassure me of the pain.

I glanced up at my parents again, seeing that my Mom was now being held by my dad, a tear slipping down her face. I nodded, looking back at the nurse. "Y-yeah. With my parents…a f-few…years ago." I winced again. "B-But…I didn't…l-like it…much." My breathing was very labored, but I managed to get the words out.

I see her nod to the doctor. "Almost done, sweet heart," he said from above me.

"Keep watching me, honey," She said, clenching my hand. "He's gunna stitch you up and you'll be done." I see her smile through her mask. "Why didn't you like New York?" she asked.

I was about to answer when I felt pain explode in my back and I let out another scream. "Talk to me, honey. Focus on me."

I felt the flesh on my back draw together and the healing process already start. "B-because…I have advanced h-hearing…and-and it was…too loud for m-me."

She smiled. "I see. Well, maybe a small town in the Michigan Upper Peninsula would be better for you, then."

I smiled too, but I had to wince again as I felt another tug. That was it; I couldn't take it anymore. The stress on my body literally couldn't handle the pain… I felt my eyes flutter closed; I felt my fist unclench for the first time since I was strapped down.

This was it.

"Hey, don't fall asleep…" I barely heard what the nice nurse said; I was too tired. I couldn't even open my eyes to look into her beautiful green eyes.

"…Stay awake… Almost done…" I was pretty sure that was the doctor, but I couldn't be sure. I heard my parents yelling my name somewhere in the back ground, but they sounded miles away. I started drift farther and farther into a sleep. Or what I thought was sleep.

Finally, everything went silent and completely black…

**:::**

**Well, that's it. Sorry for the big cliffy, but you know I could resist. Haha. There was some torture going on in there, but, you know. That's how Itex works. I don't know. I guess I'd bring some suspense into the story. **

**If you're wondering why the nurse comforting Felicity is calling her 'baby girl', it's because she sees this nearly 16-year-old teen as a little girl about to have excruciating pain shoot through her small body. In other words, she pities her, just like the doctor does when he's told to not give her morphine. **

**Anyway, the next one will be up when I get back from vacation. I hope you enjoyed this one, and that you'll keep reading!  
**

**Thanks For Reading! R&R**

**-Aly**


	17. C16 The Unbelievable and The Mysterious

**Future History**

Chapter Fifteen: The Unbelievable and The Mysterious

**3****rd**** Person POV**

It wasn't long after surgery that Max and Fang were dragged out of the observation room. They were completely helpless to save their daughter, and were now heart broken. As they were hauled through the blank, white hallways, they said nothing to each other and paid no attention to their surroundings. They never would have thought they'd have to see this place again, let alone watch their oldest daughter die in front of their eyes; they felt completely…dead.

The Erasers brought them to a dark room and threw them into a crate. Just like old times.

They were both thrown in a very large – yet not quite big enough – cage together. The first thing Fang did once the door was locked behind them was hold his wife close, cradling her trembling body, fighting tears of his own. He was shaken up to, but knew he had to be the stronger one for both of them.

"It's okay, Max," he said, rocking her back and forth.

She pulled away slightly to look in his eyes. Tears were already threatening to spill over. "How…How can you say that, Fang?" she asked in a weak voice. It cracked as if her throat were dry. "Felicity…our daughter…she's-"

"Mom? Dad?" Both Max and Fang snapped their heads in the direction of the all too familiar voice.

"Malec?" Max questioned, the tremble in her voice gone, trying to get a better look at him in the shadows. She clutched the bars frantically. "Malec, is that you?"

He appeared in the dim light of a flickering lamp above their heads.

Malec was completely surprised, yet relieved, that his parents were here. "Who else would it be?" He may have been starting to lose his mind with worry, but a small joke never hurt anything. "Mom, what are you guys doing here?"

"We came looking for you. You can't honestly think we'd leave you here to fight on your own." Despite the previous, horrid events, was happy that her eldest son was okay. She took note of his bloody state, how a ragged cloth was wrapped securely around his arm. She frowned.

Malec actually smiled, having missed his mother's sarcastic tone. "I guess not." Malec caught the look on his father's face. Being a complete copy of his father, he knew it was rare for his father to show his emotions to others. Right now, he looked…distraught, horrified, confused, angry. Malec didn't take that as a good sign.

Before he could question anything, his mother spoke up again. "Is Donte here with you?"

"Right here," Donte said, having stayed quiet this whole time. He barely registered them coming in and being thrown in cages until Malec said something.

"Report." Max was starting to fall back into her old habits, having to know exactly what was going on.

"My arm is healing and the cuts were deep," Malec said first, "but I think they'll heal pretty quickly. Mostly scrapes and bruises."

"I still can't move my leg; I'm pretty sure it's broken, but it's been healing," Donte said, not quite used to announcing his injuries like this.

Max sighed. _They have hope of escaping, but…_ She looked at her husband. _How do I tell them about Felicity?_

"Mom, what's going on? You two are acting…well, weird." It was almost too obvious to Malec and Donte that something happened. "I mean, Dad's always quiet, but Mom, sometimes you don't know how to shut up – no offence."

Even the play-out-a-joke fallback didn't work – Malec's frightened and angry parents just looked at each other. They were obviously fighting some kind of war within themselves.

"Is everyone okay?" Donte asked, suddenly remembering that the two in the crate aren't the only members of the Original Flock. "Everyone in the Flock okay?"

Max kept her eyes on her husband for a moment longer before answering, turning to Malec who was across the room. "Yes…they weren't captures and managed an escape."

This got Malec thinking. "So…how did you guys wind up here and they didn't?"

Max's eyes locked with Malec's showing him just how scared she was. He had never seen his mom that way, so he was kind of taken aback. "We had to be sure you were alive. I don't know what I'd do if…" She stopped. She was about to say "…if you of you got hurt – or worse" but could bear the thought, not after what they just witnessed.

Malec sighed, shifting in his cage to show his partly healed chest. She seen his blood stained body and how the knife wounds were already healing; she could tell they will scar. "Mom, we're okay, but Felicity was taken not too long ago; maybe 30 minutes ago." Max's face dropped, and Fang stiffened beside her. "Each of us was gone for a few hours, but we don't know when they're bringing her back."

"_If_ they bring her body back here, I'd be surprised…" Max found herself mumbling under her breath. She wasn't sure if they heard it, but Both Donte and Malec's eyes widened a faction of an inch. "We…saw Felicity."

Donte seemed to suddenly come to life. "You did? What she okay?" he asked eagerly. Fang was the only one that noticed the look in Donte's eyes; the same look any man had when hearing about someone they care about: passion. Fang wasn't sure if he liked the idea of the boy feeling 'passionate' about his daughter's well-being, but he decided to save that thought for another time, because worrying about that now was…pointless.

Another tear slipped from Max's eye. Fang reached out with a gentle arm and pulled her closer. "Felicity…" she started, clearing her voice after it cracked again, "was strapped to a table." Malec and his best friend hung on her every word, eyes and angry growing with each sentence. "They tried to put something in her back surgically. They wouldn't tell us what was going on. They didn't give her anything for the pain; she felt everything they were doing to her. Every poke and cut must have sent so much pain for her to handle… Because of her healing they had to keep cutting it back open. She was strong, but…" Max turned her head from the kids, breaking eyes contact. She leaned her head on Fang's shoulder, tears free-falling again. "She wasn't strong enough… Her body couldn't handle the pain…"

Malec was speechless, to say the least. He never would have thought her death would be the outcome of her disappearance with the Erasers. "Wh…What? That…Can't be true…" He stumbled over his words, still trying to understand why and how. "It's not true!" he suddenly yelled, causing Max and Fang to look at him with wide eyes.

"Malec…" Max said, trying to reason with him, but he wouldn't have it.

"No. She's stronger than that; you're wrong!" he all but screamed, slamming his fists on the bars of his cage. "She has a strong heart; she's almost stronger than me! She can't be dead… She can't be gone!" A tear slid down his cheek.

"Malec…" It pained Max to see her only son so distraught and wanted nothing more than to comfort him like she did when he was little.

Then, there was a loud cry of pain coming from Donte's crate. He had lost complete focus on keeping his power tame and was shocked by the collar.

_Felicity… This can't be happening; it can't be true!_ he thought to himself. _That kiss… was that really the one and only? This wasn't supposed to happening…! _

More pain coursed through his body as more and more electrical jolts shot through his system, jump starting his already racing heart.

"Donte! Stop!" Malec called, watching his best friend wither across the small room, just out of reach from his out stretched arm.

Finally, Donte's body stopped seizing and he lay limp in his cage. "I…I tried to stop her… It's…It's all my fault…"

"Not. It's not your fault." Malec groaned in frustration, though hurt flashed over his brown eyes. "Man, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have blamed you; I was just upset that they took her. It's not your fault, Donte."

Max and Fang exchanged a look, memories flooding back to when they'd risk life and limb for each other. For love.

_Max sat calming in the sand, watching the kids – Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy and Angel – play in the water, having a good time. Not to mention ruining their new clothes. The voice in her head keeps telling her to save the world, but as a fourteen year old mutant freak, where does she start?_

_Her thoughts were cut short by a gust of wind coming off the waves, weaving through the night sky. She wrapped her arms tighter around herself and drew her legs in closer, trying to shield herself from the cold. Then, a dark, warm fabric plopped down on her head, startling her a little. She looked up behind her to the one and only Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Silent._

"_Fang."_

"_The wind is cold tonight," he stated a little too obviously. _

_Max just nodded. A few minutes of silence went by, and as the kids continued to dunk each other in the water, she said, "Fang." It was supposed to sound more like a question, but rather came out as if she was just saying is name._

_He glanced down at her._

_That was her cue to continue. "A mutant freak and a hero…may not be that different," she said, though seemed to still be putting the pieces together in her head._

"_What's wrong? The Voice in your head?" he asked, silently taking a seat next to her. _

_She couldn't help but notice exactly how close he was until she could feel his body heat even in his wind._

"_Not now," she said, glancing again at the kids to make sure they hadn't drowned. (Yet.)_

_Suddenly a hand met the back of her head and smushed her upper body toward the sand. Fortunately, her head never met the gritty sand, instead it met Fang's leg. She overcame her shock pretty quickly, and was about to spring back up and accuse him of assault when he spoke again. He seemed to be on some kind of speaking roll today. "Then get some sleep," he said, all too aware of the fact that his hand never left her soft hair. "Don't waste your energy over thinking things."_

_Her eyes held their size of dinner plates for a few more seconds before she relaxed completely against the fabric of his jeans. "Guess that's a good idea…"_

But that didn't last long before Jeb and Ari interrupted. She remembered how her heart fluttered when she caught him looking at her, or when he'd look away in time to act as though he wasn't. He didn't know it then, but she was feeling something different for him, and it scared her and excited her at the same time.

"_Fang! Max!" Nudge called as both her and Angel touched-down on the sand first, Iggy and Gazzy close behind. Max watched as they rushed over, silently wishing they would beat it before the Erasers changed their minds and turned on their heels back this way. _

_As she leaned Fang against the rocks he let out a low groan of protest._

"_Fang…! Wake up…!" Nudge called, tears already pouring down he face. _

"_He should see a doctor!" Gazzy said as he and Iggy circled around Fang like Nudge and Angel did. _

"_No…hospi'l…" he said through clenched teeth, pain burning every part of his now sore body. _

"_Fang, how bad is it?" Max asked, every part of her aching to see him in so much pain._

"_Pre'y bad…"He hissed again when Iggy's feather like fingers hit a sore spot. _

_Max was at a loss. She watched as his breathing hitched whenever he so much as twitched the wrong way. Anger coursed through her body, but it slowly dulled by fear – fear that almost had her believing that Fang was already a goner. _

"_You look like a kitty cat," she said out of nowhere, hoping to lighten the mood. He just stared sourly at her from one cracked eye. _

_Then, she reached her hand up to cup his cheek – the one that didn't make him look like a "kitty cat". She lightly brushed her fingers over his split lip. "Ow," he hissed, flinching a little at her touch. But something inside him wanted to lean more into her soft, gentle hand in his cheek. _

_A tear slipped down Max's face. "Just live, okay? Live and be okay…"_

Then the rest is history.

Max watched and listened as Fang and Malec talking quietly, neither of them actually saying much, just a bunch of gesturing and nodding. Watching Fang's emotionless face reminded her of a time when Fang's silence nearly cost him is life.

**(A/N: All of these flashbacks are the manga, the book, and my ideas all put together. Just so you know.) **

"_Max?" She looked up at Nudge who was flying up above her. "How long till get to D.C.?"_

_She thought about it for a second, calculating the time they left with the mileage for New York to D.C. "An hour; hour and a half."_

_Suddenly, the memory from what Jeb said back at the sewers flashed through her mind. _"You killed your own brother!"

_She flinched at the memory. _That can't be true!_ she all but screamed in her head, which of course, triggered a headache._

"_You okay? You look pale." Fang flew up closer to her. She couldn't read his face, but his eyes held concern. Then she realized she was holding her head in her hand. _

"_How do you mean?" she asked sarcastically, felling sick just thinking about Ari._

"_Max, what's that?" Gazzy asked, point ahead of them. She looked toward where he was point – they all did – and saw what looked like little black specs in the sky._

"_Choppers?"  
_

"_Too small and quiet for that?" fang said, making a good point. "Birds maybe?"_

_She squinted, trying to make out what the shapes heading right for them are. "Wait, those…those are birds." They were really close now – close enough for them to get a good look at what they were._

_Nudge and Angel gasped, every one of them looking completely surprised. "It…can't be…!"_

"_Flying Erasers!"_

_Max composed herself. "Let's split up. Nudge, Gazzy! Take your nine-o'clock. Angel! Stay on top. Fang and Iggy! Flank me from behind!"_

_And with that, the battle began. Everyone was swarmed by Erasers, angel keeping an eye on everyone from the top of the crowd. Iggy was holding his own, but he was at a disadvantage. Fang was doing good, too, taking a hit in the shoulder. Nudge yelped, barely dodging a swipe from an Eraser._

"_Yikes! Get away!" she yelled, keeping just of of his reach. Then the Eraser lost his balance and spirled straight into another Eraser. Nudge had to stare in surprise and hold back a giggle. It was a funny sight to see. _

"_Nudge, scat!" She heard Max's voice and did as she suggested, heading over to Gazzy to help him dodge an Eraser by kicking him in back and watching him fall straight into the water below._

"_Take that you oversized, poor excuse for a animal!"_

_Max barely dodged another assault on her life, whisking away just as an Eraser's furry claws flew past her face. _That was close…_ she thought. Just as he was about to throw another punch, her foot connected with his face and he only staggered. The Eraser recovered and grabbed her wrist; she grunted, trying to escape. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled and she turned, just in time to see another Eraser closing in behind her. _

_Fang was fighting for his life – literally. Not that they aren't doing that every day, but it was still one of those situations where his life depended on it. He managed to kick the last of the Erasers he was fighting between is bulging wings and watched as he howled in pain and spiraled down toward the ground. That's when he seen the Eraser advance on Max from behind. _Those cheating dirt-bags,_ he thought, speeding her way. _Not going to make it in time. I can't stop him, but I can…

"_Damn!" Max swore, breaking from the Eraser's grip but it was too late._

_The Eraser swung and his claws swiped hard at Fang, him jumping in the way of the blow. _

"_Fang!"_

"_Watch it," he said over his shoulder, trying not to make his voice sound strained._

_She smirked. "Thanks." She flew off without another word, which Fang was thankful for._

_He couldn't let her know how bad he was hurting after that blow from the Eraser, not at a time like this. "Ah…" he groaned, clenching his side the Eraser managed to sink his claws into. _That's gunna leave a mark,_ he thought._

"_Out of the way!" Iggy yelled, him and Gazzy flying away as he let loose a shirt with a bomb in it. Seconds later, it exploded, effectively taking out all of the Erasers in the area._

_I love the sound of a bomb dropping," Iggy said, happiness laced in his voice._

_Max raised a brow. "I can't imagine where you keep those…" She sighed. "Everyone okay?" she called out to the others, knowing Iggy was obviously okay._

_Fang, of course, was silent and only glanced at her. She noticed something was off but chose to ignore it for now._

"_I'm fine," Angel said, still cradling Total in her arms. _

"_My leg hurts, but I'm okay," The Gasman said._

"_Me, too!" Nudge called, flying over to the rest of the Flock._

_Max nodded. "Let's get out of here."_

"_Okay!" they said collectively._

_Fang wasn't okay. He could feel the blood dripping down his side, soaking his shirt. He was now struggling to keep his breathing even. He felt his face flash as his temperature spiked and his heart rate increased. _

_Not good._

"_So…what was with the flying Erasers?" Iggy asked, trying to ignore the fact that he could sense something wrong with Fang. He knew his best friend would wring his neck if he said anything, she he kept his mouth shut. _

"_I'm guessing a prototype," Max answered. _

_Nudge swooped around, enjoying the breeze hitting her face and cooling her once tense muscles. "But man, are they failures. They were having a hard time fighting and flying at the same time."_

"_They were really bad flyers," Angel stated, smiling. _

_Gazzy laughed. "Yeah, they were like a bunch of idiots trying to dance."_

_Nudge giggled, pushing her hair out of her face. She caught fang out of the corner of her eye; he didn't look so good. "Fang, are you okay?"_

_It took most of his strength to utter, "No…" He was feeling weaker by the second._

_Max seen to deep red dripping from his arm. "Fang! Your arm!"_

_He glanced at her, his eyes blood-shot and face paler than she'd ever seen it. "'S not my arm…" And before anyone could move, his wing beat faltered and he was hurling toward the ground._

"_Fang!" She made a dive after him, catching his wrist and barely slowing their descent. She wrapped her arms around his limp body, shielding his head from the impact to the ground. She made sure her shoulder and back too most of the blow; it stung, but she ignored it._

"_Fang! What's going on?" she asked, shakily sitting up. That's when she noticed all the thick, red blood, the smell of iron filling his nose. She gasped and just stared in horror, at lose of words and understanding. When did this happen? Why didn't he say anything about it when she asked? _

"_What's wrong with him?" Nudge asked as she and the others ran over. _

"_Is he okay?" Gazzy called. They got their answer when they took in his current condition._

_Nudge gasped, while Gazzy quiet described the scene to Iggy. His eyes widened significantly. _

"_What can I do?" Nudge asked, her voice shaking quite a bit. _

"_Help me lift his shirt so we can see what we're dealing with," Max said, her voice completely calm; she was trying to be strong for them, but found it difficult when the thought of Fang not pulling through crossed her mind. _

_Iggy sat behind Fang, putting his mangled best friend's head in his lap. _

"…_This is…jus' a scratch…" Fang muttered, his voice barely audible. _

"_Shush! Don't talk," Iggy warned, patting his best friends' shoulder comfortingly. _

_Suddenly, a fit of anger erupted from Max. "You should have told us you were hurt! Damn you, Fang!" The others gaped at her, never expecting this kind of outburst. But she didn't care. "You're stupid, careless, and damn stubborn! I can't believe you don't trust us enough to tell us how you feel!" Fang's only response that he could muster was to lift his hand in an attempt to silence her. It failed, because he couldn't open his eyes to see what he was doing. She grasped his hand in both of hers, smiling sadly now. "But that's why I love you."_

Then the rest is history.

While remembering these flashbacks, she wasn't sure how much time had passed, but she was guessing about half a day. During which time, Fang had scooted closer to the darker part of their cage, clearly thinking over what had recently happened. Max, on the other hand, proceeded to play mother. She leaned into the bars on the opposite side of the cage that Fang was on and stroked Donte's sweating cheek, watching as his face continuously went from fear to pain to hate to a different kind of pain, back to fear, then to anger, and then more pain when he released his power. She swore she saw a tear fall from his eye, but chose to keep her mouth shut. She was 75% sure it wasn't due to the pain of his "shock collar", but from the pain of losing – dare she say it – someone he loved.

Malec was on the other side of the small room, flexing and unflexing, rotating and re-rotating his newly healed arm. Almost every square inch of his arm from wrist to shoulder was covered in scars. Some were long and jagged, others were short and thin. His face was completely blank, unreadable by any means. It was times like this that Malec and Fang could honestly be the same person.

It had been hours countless hours since they broke the news about Felicity, but Donte and Malec were still taking it hard. Fang was still quiet in the corner, but she could read his body language like a pro: when he knew he was alone, she was sure he'll shed those tears he's holding back. And she honestly couldn't have expected anything less from him.

Then, out of nowhere, there was a voice. "Hello? Is anyone in here?"

Everyone jumped – literally – completely startled by the sudden voice.

"Who's there?" Malec asked, his hand poised and ready to attack. _Wait – where was that collar thing that Donte had on? Didn't Malec have one, too? What am I missing here?_ Max thought hurriedly.

"Malec?" the voice asked, and now that she listened more closely, Max recognized it too.

"Andy?" Fang questioned, him and Max coming out of the shadows to confirm their suspicions.

"Oh, my God… You're all okay!" She and another form, Vanessa, rushed over to them. "We thought we'd never find you!"

"How did you get in here?" Max asked.

She glanced at Malec, her face uneasy now. He nodded to her, signaling it was okay. "Well, I have the power to walk through solid objects." She jerked her thumb to Vanessa. "And I can take others with me through contact."

"Well, that explains one thing," Fang said. "But something still doesn't seem right." Max gave him a questioning look, like she hadn't picked up on anything. Donte, and the kids all gave nervous glances toward each other. "How did you and Vanessa manage to reach the building before us?"

Andy looked hesitant about something, but finally sighed in defeat. "Well, might as well let the truth out now." She walked over to Malec's cage and stuck her hand through the bars, smiling. "But first, let's get you guys out of these…dog crates?" She said it in the form of a question, not sure of the correct term for them.

Malec didn't hesitate taking her hand and she pulled up. Amazingly, Malec's body went right through the bloody, metal bars as he stood and took several steps into the middle of the dark cramped room. Max and Fang stared in awe.

"And that's only half of the creepy stuff she can do," Vanessa said, crossing her arms.

Andy rolled her eyes. She held on to Malec's hand a second longer, taking in the several new scars the over 75% of his right arm. Then she turned toward Donte, taking in his crumbled, bloody appearance. She glanced at Max. "Is he okay?"

Max let out a sad sigh. "He's…well, _physically_ okay. We've all been through some…emotional toll in the last couple of hours."

Andy just nodded, deciding to not push it any farther. She bent down next to his cage and leaned toward him – her head and shoulders faded through the bars on the cage. "Donte, can you move okay? Does Malec need to help you out?" She volunteered Malec because he had one of the most active powers that could quickly get rid of the lock on his crate if he didn't want her help.

Donte has rejected her help several times, but never at a time like this, so she couldn't be sure what was the right thing to do.

Donte didn't move at first, his back facing her. Then, he shifts up, straining his sore muscles to their limit. Andy helped him to a sitting position then helped him to his feet slowly. Then, as he stood straight up, his control collar fell from his neck and right through his body until it hit the cement floor with a _clang_.

Malec came over to help steady his best friend's body, wrapping his arm around his shoulder. Donte's eyes were only open in slits, he was awake and alert, but he couldn't find the motivation to move.

Andy kindly helped Max and Fang to their feet, not once meeting their questioning and hard gazes. Their collars fell right through their bodies as well – as weird and unappealing as it was to feel something slip right through your body.

Now they were all standing in the middle of the room.

"So, what's this big secret?" Max asked, placing her hands on her hips impatiently.

Slowly, Andy slipped her jean jacket off her shoulders and folded it into her arm neatly, leaving her in a black tank top, skinny jeans, and purple converse. She turned her back on Max and Fang, making them that much more confused. Then, as if by magic, chocolate brown feathers seemed to grow and pull themselves from under her skin. They seemed to mold from just under her shoulders, eventually taking the shape of long, beautiful wings placed perfectly on her back.

Fang's eyes grew wide and Max's mouth dropped open and sputtered out words. "You… you have wings… You're an Avian-American!"

:::

**END! Ha-Ha. Sorry about that cliffy, but the chapter was just way to long – thanks to the two flashbacks – and I had to cut it somewhere. But, I think I'm going to unravel all of the mysteries and secrets in the next chapter. Don't want you guys hanging in the dark for too much longer, right? **

**By the way, this chapter alone was almost 10 pages long, though it reaches a few lines on the 11****th**** page. Mind you, that's not the longest chapter I've written, but it comes pretty close to an obnoxiously-long chapter, lol. So, considering most of my chapters have been in the 6-8 page range, this was a kind of treat. Either way, I hoped you liked it. **

**Thanks For Reading! R&R**

**-Aly**


	18. C17: The Truth

**Future History**

Chapter Sixteen: The Truth

**Max's POV**

**(A/N: Just so you guys know, it's the day before Felicity's birthday. That's going to play a major part in the story a little later on.)**

"How is this even possible?" I asked, trying hard to understand.

She folded her wings behind her back. "Well, my mom was just like you. She was created by Itex to be an experiment for the upcoming 'Dooms-Day'. The only difference between her DNA and yours is she was branded with only 1% Avian, while you have 2%." Her eyes suddenly held sadness, like she was remembering something. "My mother was the girl you rescued from the cages in the New York sewers."

My eyes widened for a fraction of a second. "Are you serious?"

She nodded. "She always told me stories about how people just like her found her and saved her. She always called herself a coward because she couldn't stand up to the Erasers like you did." Her eyes met mine. "She said she wished she could stand up for herself like you stood up for others."

"She was brave to run away at all. She may have been in a cage all those years but she was strong enough to keep going, to take on a world she knew nothing about." I smiled reassuringly. "That's bravery if I've ever seen it."

"So, when you all went your separate ways, she took the group that was set free under her wing – no pun intended." She laughed half-heartedly to herself. "She's a strong willed woman with a big heart, but she could never kill or hurt a living creature. So, instead of teaching the experiments to fight, she teaches them to survive." Malec and Donte stood next to her now. Malec's eyes were on Andy, watching her with pitied eyes. Donte still looked…dead.

"Is your mother…okay?" I found myself asking.

She nodded, smiling brightly. "She raised those mutants to understand and live amongst the humans, though most had to remain in hiding, and most of them follow her till this day. Some learned how to use their powers – if they had any – and went to find a life somewhere else. From the day I was born I spent my life around them and would consider them my family." Her face faltered slightly. "It's just…mom's away more often. She Left me alone under the supervision of a few mutants that I could consider my uncles a lot, and they raised me to be able to operate in the humans world. Then she went off on a mission to search for a whale mutant that had escaped from Itex. Then a tiger mutant in Africa. Then a monkey mutant in New Zealand." She sighed. "And the list goes on."

I just nodded. "So, if you don't mind me asking, how is it can you fold your wings into your body to make them disappear? Can your mother do that, too?"

She nodded. "It seems we are the only ones that can bind out wings into our bodies, but we can only do it for a short time or they become stiff and harder to bring back out."

Fang nodded next to me, his arms folded over his chest. His eyes were closed as he took it all in. "That makes sense."

I raised a brow. "It does?" _Is he getting something I'm not?_ I wondered.

"Well, the phrase 'less is more' plays a major part in her theory," he said, his eyes on me now as he explained. "It's like trial and error. That girl couldn't have been more than a few months younger and Iggy and I back in the day. She was their prized possession, their top experiment, and that's why she was down there; to hide her from the world."

"My mom's name is Diana," Andy stated.

Fang nodded and continued to state is theory. "My guess is they kept her alive because she was responding slower to the 'treatment'." He used air quotes for the word 'treatment'. "When she grew her wings was probably around the time Angel came along and Jeb broke us out. I'd bet my left wing that when we busted them out of the sewers in New York, Itex wasn't after us because we were 'important' to them – they wanted to kill us because we let their most prized possession escape."

Now I got it. "They never expected us to break in and let them out. They were after us because we played hero."

"But what I still don't understand," Fang stated, a hard look in his eye as Andy slid her jacket back on, "is why you didn't fly when you and Max dropped out of the sky?"

Before Andy could open her mouth to utter a phrase of explanation, Vanessa jumped in, obviously impatient. "This is great and all, but why are we still here?" Vanessa asked, speaking up for the first time in a while.

I nodded, turning to Malec. "Yeah, if your collar thingy was off the whole time why didn't you guys leave?"

He shrugged like it was no big deal. "If broke off when they threw me in." His face broke into a deep frown. "Felicity was the one to notice it."

"We should have done something sooner…" Donte said, his voice low and cracked. He seemed to still be taking this pretty hard. We all were, but it was different for him. I just wish Fang would stop glaring at the poor boy…

Malec turned to Donte, his gaze hard. "You were the one who said we needed a plan; I suggested breaking loose and taking them all head-on."

Donte winced, as if he was physically hurt by the comment. Malec looked regretful, but didn't get a chance to apologize.

"Wait, what happened?" Vanessa demanded, hating being in the dark. "What are we missing here?"

I glance at Fang, silently asking him for support in case I couldn't break it to them. He was always my rock and I knew he'd catch me if I fell. "Well-"

But before I could utter another word, the door to the room exploded. The force of the blow sent us all flying father back into the now slightly illuminated room full of dog crates.

It took me a second, but I finally found my bearings and pushed myself up.

"Damn! That was a good one, Ig!"

"Music to my ears. God, that never gets old."

"Actually, it gets real old, real fast. I can't wait until you to get Alztimers and can't remember what the colors red, blue, yellow, and green are."

"Guys!" I said, realizing who it was.

"Max!" Nudge called, running up to us and helped me up. "Oh, my God! I can't believe you guys are okay! I mean, of course you're okay; you're the amazing Maximum Ride! You could breathe fire and spit water if you wanted to! Okay, Fang has the fire and you water, but that's beside the point! Wait…what was my point?" she asked, finally taking a breath.

I smiled, shaking my head in dismay. "I don't know either, Nudge."

"God, my ears are bleeding!" Vanessa whined.

That's when Iggy's eyes traveled in her direction. "Vanessa?" His daughter flinched, but said nothing. He was glaring now. "You have some explaining to do."

He approached her with fire in his step, knowing exactly where she was at. When he was towering over her, his height looking impossibly tall even to me, he looked down at her with worry and love in his eyes. I know she couldn't see the love there, but the anger was still radiating from him. He wasn't mad, just overly worried.

Before she could utter a word, he gathered his oldest daughter in his arms and hugged her tight. Vanessa's face held understandable surprise; she hugged him back, sinking her face in his shirt.

"I'm just glad you're okay, V."

"An explanation can be done later," Nudge interrupted. She jerked her thumb over her shoulder and at the door. "They'll pick up on what happened to their door any minute now. We need to get somewhere safe and catch up there."

"Hey," Gazzy said suddenly, taking a look around at all the faces in the room, taking note which ones were missing. "Where's Felicity? Do we have to go looking for her, too? Because I only packed enough bombs for opening a couple doors," holding up his pack.

By now Vanessa broke away from her embrace with her father. "Aunt Max was about to tell us when they decided to stay locked up in this room when they could have escaped hours ago."

All eyes were on me now. (Minus Iggy and Vanessa's, of course.) Malec threw a sympathetic glance my way, and Donte stared hard at the floor. I felt Fang move closer behind me, barely pressing his hand on my lower back to let me know he was there. Malec and Donte turned their gazes away, sadness etched in their expressions. This was going to be tough for all of us. Vanessa and Felicity were best friends – sisters – and from what I understand, Andy was the same way.

The entire family – extended or otherwise immediate – was going to be devastated.

"I'm guessing by the complete silence that this isn't good news," Iggy guessed correctly. His face was blank; one of his ways of preparing himself for big news. The other was cracking a joke before hand to lighten the mood, but this was no time for jokes.

"Felicity… She's, well…" I said slowly, trying to keep my heart from beating so hard that it breaks all over again. God, this was harder than I could have ever imagined! I never wanted the day to come that I would be burying one of my babies… And yet here I was, face to face with my family, trying to tell them the news.

Andy gave a quick look around, as if realizing she missed something. "Yeah, now that someone mentions it, I thought for sure she'd be with Malec and Donte." She glanced up at the two of them, but neither of them met her gaze. Now she looked puzzled, and worried.

"That's the thing," I said, drawing her attention back to me. "Felicity…she's…" I struggled to get the words past my lips, but it was impossible. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block the tears from falling.

I couldn't. I could do it. Uttering those words one more time was like swallowing lava. I couldn't breathe attempting to push the words past my lips. I broke down, letting the dam go and tears flow down my cheeks.

Fang, my rock and savior of all things bad, wrapped both arms around me and held me close, my bad pressed tightly against his chest.

"She's dead," he said bluntly. He kissed the crown of my head and took a deep breath, obviously trying to fight the sadness away as well. I could hear his breathing suffer as he tried to hold back tears. His voice also shook the slightest bit, but no one could have noticed it, no one but me. "She's gone. We saw it happen ourselves…" I could tell saying it hurt him as much as if hurt me.

"No…" Nudge whimpered, leaning into Gazzy for support.

Tears were free-fell down her face. Gazzy, my ever strong little boy that I remember all those years ago, looked like he was about to cry himself. Everyone had formed a special bond with all of the kids because we were so close as a family and a new race. And because of that, this was devastating to everyone.

"They…they did some kind of experimental surgery on her back…" Malec tried explaining, with Andy wrapped up in his arms. She was crying too – everyone was. "Her…body couldn't handle the pain… She…she's gone…" A tear slid down his cheek.

"That…can't be true…" Vanessa said, speaking up for the first time in a while. (I swear, sometimes I forget she's there she's so quiet.) Her voice was shaky, and uneven. "She…she's strong! She's stronger than this! I know because – because _she's_ the one that chases away people who'd tease and trip me in the halls; _she's_ the one who hands me my pencil when it falls off my desk; _she's_ the one that trains longer with me than anyone else because she's my best friend – Andy's too!" She pointed angrily in Andy's direction, he voice rising with each word. By now, Iggy had closed the distance between him and is daughter again and brought her into another hug. "She can't be gone…" she mumbled into his chest, tears soaking her father's army-green shirt. "She's meant to be here…to finish the mission-"

She cut herself off abruptly. I noticed Donte, Malec and Andy flashed her a surprised 'oh-crap-they-caught-us' glance that she'll never see.

After a few moment of mulling over the statement, Gazzy spoke up. "What mission, V?" he asked, his interest in the conversation speaking up.

But before anyone could utter another syllable, voices – particularly angry ones – came from the hall.

"The explosion came from over here!

"There are intruders!"

"Catch them!"

"Later," I said, going straight into parental mode. I wiped the tears from my eyes and painfully pulled myself from Fang's warm embrace. Gazzy, Fang, and Iggy nodded. Nudge and the kids were still slightly paralyzed, but I understood why. "Iggy, you and Vanessa stay in the dark." I nodded to Gazzy and Nudge as well. "They don't know you five are here. And the less they know, the better."

Iggy nodded and guided a numb Vanessa toward the back of the room where it was the darkest. Nudge and Gazzy followed suit. I turned and faced the door, ready to go.

"How are we pulling off an escape?" Fang asked, taking up position next to me.

I shook my head. "We will need a miracle."

My loving, badass husband took my hand, and flashed me a smile only I could notice. "We've had three kids and got through their terrible twos without a hitch. We will get through this with or without that miracle."

I smiled back, but before I could answer, someone else cut in.

"We're helping," Malec said, the three eldest kids stepping up.

I glared at him. "Like hell you are! You guys have gone through enough; now let the pros take care of these freaks."

Malec only turned his eyes to me, not turning completely toward me. "Mom, you guys saved the world once already. I think it's time you stepped down from your thrown and let the Next Generation show you how it's done." A tiny smile played at his lips, which surprised me because Malec rarely smiles; let alone jumping into something like this. "It's our turn to save the world, whether you like it or not." He was always one to wait until he was invited into a conversation or event, never one to push through. However, I don't remember inviting him and the other two to join in, so this was new.

I looked at Fang who chuckled at his son's comment.

"That one is all yours," I said to him, glaring playfully.

He just rolled his eyes.

**:::**

**End of chapter 17! **

**Don't Kill Me! I know killing off Felicity sounds tragic, but it gets better. I promise! **

**It doesn't feel like it's been 4 months and 17 chapters since starting this story. I put a lot of thought into it, and I guess I never expected it to be this long. It could be because I've been cutting my chapters down from 7-10+ pages to only 5 or 6. Call it 'wanting to keep you all on your toes' kind of thing. Haha.**

**Anyway, let me know what you think it in general. I'm liking where it's going so far, and I'm already planning a small Sequel to the story. Don't quote me on this, but I think I'm ending this particular story around the 24****th**** chapter. Maybe. I think I can sum up all my thoughts into that amount of chapters. The creepy lady that has only appeared over the speakers will show up again soon; and I haven't forgotten about Dr. M and the kids on that end. Everything will soon be coming together, and it will all be over. And maybe I'll be happy with the result! Lol. Maybe.**

**So, you know what to do!**

**Thanks For Reading! R&R**

**-Aly**


	19. C 18: Dreams and Realizations Come True

**Future History**

Chapter Nineteen: Dreams and Realizations Come True

**Andy POV**

One second, I was standing in a hall with Donte and my best friend's father, Fang Ride. (Any other girl would have freaked out over that comment, but when your mother is just like them and you've learned not to seek any kind of special attention, you learn to by-pass such stupid actions.) Then the next I was standing in…well nothing.

Everything around me was white and warm, like I was standing in a really bright, write room with no corners or sense of an end. And I'm not even sure I was standing; I could walk around, but there was no pressure on my legs, like I was literally walking on air.

"Hello?" I called, getting that feeling of being alone. "Is anybody there?"

Of course there was no answer, because that's just my luck that there'd be no one around in this dream walk.

Yeah. I can walk through people's dreams. As Vanessa stated earlier, that's another one of the "freaky things" that I can do. She hates the idea of people walking around – uninvited – in her head. Even though when I do visit her dreams, she can see me. We believe it's because it's something she longs for, but it's something that can only happen in her dreams.

In this dream I was wearing the same outfit fitted on me back in reality. That wasn't too uncommon, seeing as though most of my friends wouldn't care what I was wearing in their dreams.

After calling out again, I felt something. It wasn't like someone just touched me on the arm, or punched me in the face; it was more like someone was reaching out, like whosever head this is knew I was here and was trying to find me.

"If there's someone there, you don't need to be afraid," I called again, looking around in the brightness for something – anything. "I'm not here to hurt you."

Sadly, even though I walked into someone's dream, I couldn't tell whose it was until they were standing right in front of me, or they gave me some kind of clue that showed whose it was. So I felt kind of stupid playing the "I come in peace" card at this point.

"Hello?" I called again, hoping someone would just appear already.

You know what they say: "Ask, and you shall receive".

"Hey, Andy. Long time no see."

I snapped around, startled that someone actually popped up out of nowhere. But that surprise was nothing compared to who was standing there when I turned around.

"Felicity…?"

Sure enough, there she was. The friend I thought I had lost forever, standing before me in the flesh. (Well, for a dream anyway.)

She raised a brow. "Yeah. Who else would it be? Weren't you just calling me here?"

I was too shocked to really answer her question. Instead, I stared at her like a complete weirdo, trying to get over my shock. Feeling the uncomfortable feeling riding over us, I lunged forward and practically tackled her in a hug.

"I'm so happy you're okay!" I said, feeling tears prick my eyes. "I can't believe this is actually happening…"

She hugged my back, but she didn't seem to understand why I was hugging her in the first place. "Um…yeah I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be?"

I pulled away, keeping her at arms-length, like if I truly let go, she'd disappear again. "You mean…you didn't notice?"

She still looked confused. "Notice what?"

I dropped my arms at my side, the fear of her disappearing replaced with my own confusion and wonder. "What's the last thing you remember?"

She looked thoughtful for a minute. "Well, I remember the horrid operating room… The pain that came with it…" A small shudder seemed to run through her body. "And then I remember my parents calling my name as I passed out."

I looked her over one more time, making sure she really was okay. "Felicity… We found your parents."

She looked up at me with surprise. "You did? That was fast. Are they okay?"

I couldn't help but smile a bit. After everything she went through she was only concerned around others well-being. "They're fine. Just…in shock."

"About what? What happened?"

I looked at her in question. "Are you sure that's all you remember? Falling…asleep and then this?"

She nodded. "Yeah. But it seems like there's a big gap between then and now. Kind of makes me wonder how long I've been out."

"Almost a full day…" I muttered under my breath. She gave me a questioning look, but I shook it off. "Felicity, when I stumbled into this" – I gestured around the emptiness – "I didn't know it was your dream. You were the one that pulled me in."

She raised a brow. "Well, how is that even possible?"

I took a deep breath. "Because I didn't expect you to be asleep, Felicity. I expected you to be…_dead_."

"What is that supposed to mean?" She was looking at me like she didn't believe me.

"Felicity, we thought you were dead," I said, looking her in the eyes so she knew I was serious. "After that surgery, the doctor announced you were dead. Your parents were there the whole time and believed what they seen: you dead on that table."

She looked toward her hand that she held up, like she was trying to figure out if it was real. "But…how can I be in the dream realm…if I'm dead? And how can you be dream walking if this isn't a dream…?" She closed her eyes tight. "God, please let this be a dream!"

I put my hands on her shoulders, turning her to look at me. "If it wasn't a dream, you wouldn't have called out to me; trying to reach out to me like you did." She looked up at me with slight hope. I tried smiling, but I wasn't sure if it worked because I was trying to convince myself too. "Your subconscious must have recognized me because some part of you reached out to me. If this wasn't a dream, I wouldn't be able to dream walk, just like you said. You really must be sleeping, because I shouldn't be able to touch you or hear you – or the other way around."

She nodded, putting the pieces together just as I was. "Well, everyone is still okay, right?"

I nodded, letting my hands drop to my sides again. "The rest of the Flock found us." I raised a brow. "Your uncles really do love to blow stuff up," I stated.

This got her to laugh, though it seemed forced. "Yeah, and I'm sure Aunt Nudge was annoyed by it."

I gave a nervous laugh, too. "She was." My smile dropped a little. "Of course the…Eraser things came pouring in. Malec being Malec, he over did himself trying to keep them at bay using an electric wall as strong as lightning."

She eyes bulged. "In front of _my parents_?!"

I nodded, smiling at her expression. "Yup," I said, popping the 'p' at the end.

"What is he _crazy_?" she asked hysterically, pacing around the white empty space. "Does he have any _idea_ how much trouble we will be in if they realize what's going on, and what we've really been doing behind their backs?"

I laughed again, this time real. "Felicity, relax! Donte and Malec had to explain everything. They were surprised, but we weren't exactly in a position to into too much detail. In fact…" I looked thoughtful for a moment, "Donte and your father spent some quality bonding time together."

She stopped her pacing with an abrupt stop. "They…what?" She looked like she was about to launch into full panic mode. "What…? How…? When…?" she muttered, never actually finishing a sentence.

I did the universal "calm down" motion with my hands. "You act like it's the end of the world? Like your dad might actually kill him."

She looked at me seriously. "Dad knows how to kill, Andy. One wrong move from Donte, and he's dead."

I laughed. "Oh the irony in that sentence."

She glared at me, obviously wanting to drop the subject. "Anyway, as for this place we're in…it's weird."

I looked around us as she did. "You can say that again."

"No, I mean it doesn't feel right. Now that I'm focusing on it, there's something here."

"What do you mean?"

Her eyes fell on me at last. "I'm saying, there's something stopping me from turning this dream into something else. It feels like there's another force here."

"Maybe it's due to the trauma you went through? I mean, it's not every day your body goes through pain like that. After all, you're not just dreaming, you're unconscious somewhere."

She shook her head. "No, it's something else." She seemed to pause for a minute. "Does anyone else know about this? That I'm…alive somewhere."

I shook my head this time. "I only just found out."

"Where are you guys?"

"In a supply closet somewhere in the building. We're all okay; for now anyway."

She nodded, accepting my answer. I knew that look in her eye, and I wanted to know what she was thinking about.

"Tell me what you're thinking."

She sighed. "I don't want you to tell anyone else about this."

That wasn't the answer I was expecting. "What? Why?"

"Because I feel something…bad inside my head. I don't like this feeling I got. It feels like-like I can't trust myself, like whatever this is isn't real. I think it feels like there's something else…controlling me…" Her eyes widened with some kind of realization. "That's it! I know what's causing this!"

My eyes widened too. "What? What is it?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. She looked at her faking hands and reached for her throat, panicked. I recognized what was happing: she was waking up.

I did the calming gesture again. "Felicity, relax. You're just waking up. I need you stay calm. What's controlling you. Try to tell me." I made a random motion with my hands. "Sign it to me."

She nodded, quickly moving her hands as she was fading more and more, no doubt making it harder to read what she was saying.

'I think it was something to do with that surgery,' she signed.

I nodded. "Okay, but what about it?"

She signed faster and more frantic. This time, I could only make out fragments of sentences: 'They did something…like the control collar…stay away…'

And just like that, she was gone.

"No! Felicity!" I looked around, hopelessly looking around for her.

"Felicity!" I was now sitting up straight, my whole body shaking and coated in a layer of sweat. I was panting, for some reason out of breath when I looked around, confused for a minute. Then I realized where I was.

"Andy? Are you okay?"

That's when I realized there were worried faces looming around me and all over the small room. Donte's voice was the one I heard and I pin-pointed him trying to get around Vanessa and Malec to see me. He stood just over Malec's shoulder, the worry between the three of them, thick and very overwhelming.

"I…I'm fine. I just…" I tried searching for words, but my brain was too fuzzy. Was what I just seen…real? Or was it truly just my own dream?

Malec took my hand, gaining my attention from the floor as I tried collecting my thoughts. Everyone else dispersed, giving my room to breathe.

Over in the corner by the door to our tiny room was Fang and Donte talking quietly. This was not only surprising, but also unexpected. I never thought I'd see the day those two got along so…easily – let alone having only met each other a hand full of times over the last few years.

Looking around, I noticed Vanessa, Max, Iggy, Nudge, and The Gasman were talking amongst themselves. Aside from the fact that The Gasman and Iggy were grinning like fools, the looked pretty focused on what they were talking about. I picked up on part of the conversation when max motioned to me and then the motion of walking through a wall – I'm guessing they were trying to think of a way to get around the building quickly.

Malec was kneeling beside the makeshift, box-bed that I was on. He gently held my hand and ran his thumb across my knuckles. He had worry in his eyes, but much like his father, it was hard for him to show that to others. He wasn't one to talk unless spoken to, but if he had an opinion, he would definitely voice it. What I loved most about him was that all of those rare emotions and feelings were always saved for me.

And as much as I loved Malec – yes, I love him, and he loves me so get over it – I couldn't break a promise.

"It was just a bad dream." Considering the fact that I woke up practically screaming Felicity's name, I'm sure he understood what the dream was about.

He nodded, but gave me a skeptical look. "But are you okay?"

Was I okay? Boy, was that the million dollar question. Well, lets see, shall we? I've been training nearly all my life to be able to handle combat and defensive situations – I just lost my best friend in the heat of…well, surgery, but it was a battle non-the-less; and I not only had a secret that even I wasn't sure that I believed not only from her friends and family, but from the man I love as well.

So…yeah. I'm just peachy.

"I just…I can't believe she's gone. I…guess we're the lucky ones." I watched Fang and Max separate from their conversations and stand somewhat in the middle of the room, watching the us and everyone else with a sadness I'm not sure they knew they were emanating. Donte joined our conversation but didn't say anything as he approached. "We weren't forced to watched her be cut open murderously. To watch the life drain from her eyes..." I turned my attention back to Malec when Max started to look my way. "For God's sake, Malec, our little Felicity was…_murdered_. Sure she was the one pushing us to do all of these crazy things, but didn't we swear with everything we had that we would keep her safe? Weren't we the ones that swore to get her through anything she fought for, and to make sure that she came out happy in the end? Yes, she could be irritating and stubborn, but…" I felt a tear slide down my cheek. Malec quickly wiped it away, his palm nuzzling my cheek. "God, I loved her so much."

I didn't know where all of this sadness was coming from, but it hit me like a brick, and then continued to hit me like someone was hurling brick after brick.

I felt Malec's finger tilt my head up gently. I looked into his eyes with my teary ones and almost stared crying all over again – he looked so sad. "Hey. It's gunna be okay. We all loved her, more than she probably understood. But…we'll cope. We'll get through this together." He paused, suddenly flustered. "Uh…by that I mean, um, all of us. Like…with you…and my family."

His stuttering was so cute, I couldn't help but laugh. I'm just glad he knows how to make me smile, weather that was the intention or not.

Feeling brave – not to mention desperate for a distraction – I reached for his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. Then, forgetting about everything and everyone else, I pulled him toward me, meeting him half way as our lips met. It was a sweet, cascade kiss, but it enough. I felt him relax after the initial surprise. It wasn't heated, and it didn't progress from there, but it was quite the distraction.

That's when someone (who sounded pretty annoyed) cleared their throat.

Malec and I snapped apart. My cheeks were blazing while he "played it cool" my releasing my hand and scratching the back of his neck. It was all the more embarrassing when I realized it was Malec's mother who cleared her throat to break us up.

"Take it easy, Malec," Donte said in a mock threatening voice. "That's my sister you're kissing."

Malec glared, and said in a low voice. "And what about _you_ and _my_ sister kissing."

Whoa. What?!

"Wait…what?" I asked, surprised.

"Come again?" Vanessa added, having heard that from as she came over to us. (Let's make a note now that she has an amazing sense of hearing, and that's not just because she's blind. She can hear through walls – she can even hear what going on a mile away while canceling out other noises to hear a specific sound. So, in other words, she has ultra-sonic hearing, and it can be pretty scary sometimes.)

By Donte's expression, he wasn't sure if he should be surprised or taken-aback by Malec's comment. Either way, it was clear that it was true.

"How… How did you…?" Donte started to say, but couldn't seem to form a sentence. I was with him in that boat.

Malec stood from where he had been on the floor, now towering over me at an almost intimidating height. "Oh, please, Donte. You knew I was in and out of consciousness that night. You can't honestly say you didn't notice me watching."

Donte narrowed his brows, his voice low, too. "So you were awake at that time and didn't take getting out? You're collar was off, Malec! You could have saved her!"

The air around us seemed to grow a little thicker as the conversation progressed and then down spiraled.

Malec's glare hardened. "If I hadn't been sliced up like a damn piece of meat, I would have jumped at the chance. But, like I said, I was semi-conscious. I couldn't even keep my eyes open long enough to count to ten. And what did you do? Watch as they dragged her to her death?"

This time Donte glared hard at him. His fists were clenched hard at his side and he looked about ready to punch someone. "I tried everything, Malec! I was powerless to save her the same way I was powerless to save my mother. Is that what you want me to say?!"

Malec's glare softened slightly, but he didn't move or say anything. And of course by now everyone in the room was more focused on Malec and Donte's scene that what they had been previously talking about.

"I watched my mother purposely walk into the middle of an intersection and throw herself into the nearest on-coming car. Then I watched Felicity sacrifice herself so that my sorry ass wasn't dragged off. What if I was meant for the same fake? Would it have been better that way?"

Malec didn't answer and just stared wide eyed as his best friend had his fit of despair.

The more Donte spoke the more control over his powers slipped. As long as I knew Donte, he's had a power over air. And I knew that an elemental power came with a "dark side" that took time to learn to control. That means the angrier or sadder Donte gets, the more control that slips. For years Malec and Donte would teasingly push each other's buttons to test their anger, helping Donte to learn to control the air power. But…this was over doing it. I know Malec didn't mean to upset him, but Donte can't control so much sadness and hurt without letting that wall slip with it.

"What else do you want from me? She kissed me, okay? I don't know why and I don't care why. All I know is that I love her and you could never understand how much pain I feel knowing that it could have been me on that table! You have no idea what it's like to feel to know that _you're_ the reason she walked out, that _you're_ the reason she _threw her life away_!"

That's when I felt the air around us twist and turn unsettlingly, like it was warning us. Looking at Donte, everything about him was on edge and out of control. He fists were clenched as I seemed to lean closer and closer to Malec, like her was stopping himself from jumping at him. His eyes held a dangerous look that even I've never seen on him before. Well, there was on other time I've seen his eyes hold so much anger: when his mother died and he suddenly gained the power of air and wind.

Everyone in the room tensed, having felt the same power I had and clearly not knowing where it was coming from.

Without thinking, I jumped between them and pushed Donte as far back as I could, putting some distance between him and Malec. If I didn't calm Donte down now, he was going to make a new sky-light in the building, and it would be _big_.

I held him by his shoulders and forced him to look at me. Even though he was a few inches taller than me now, he never scared me, even when we were kids. "Donte, look at me. Relax!" He did focus on me for a minute, but then looked away again. "No! look at me!" he did again. "If you don't put that wall back up, you're going to kill us all, Donte! Think back to your mother, to when you fought hard for the first time to keep that power down. What happened?"

He didn't answer for a second. I saw the battle raging in his eyes and in his trembling shoulders. He was fight for control, but he was the brink of losing it. "You…you hugged me a-and said…that you'd look after me now."

I smiled, relishing in the memory. At the time I hadn't known that I was the one that I was the one that kept his powers at by and that showed him how to put a wall up to keep the monster sealed away. I was the one that showed him that someone else could show him love, even though his mother was gone.

"Yeah, and what did you tell me?"

"That you are the best sister ever," he said and took a deep breath, drawing back more of his power.

I wrapped my arms around him, smashing his arms at his sides so that he had nowhere to go, just like I did almost 14 years ago. "And you are the best big brother, no matter what anyone says or what you do. I'll always look after you because no one else can." Before I could stop myself, I said, "Because no one else knows how much Angel really loved you."

I felt Donte's body tense under my arms, and I felt my own body relapse with the words that I let slip past my lips.

Oops…

"Andy…!" Malec scolded, though he threw a worried glance at his parents.

"Damn it, Andy! We were on a roll," Vanessa said, trying and failing to make me feel better.

Max and Fang were standing closer than I thought, and I like it was mentioned earlier, this room was really tiny. Fang's face was impassive as always, but Max's face held every expression there was as she studied Donte like she was trying to remember something. I let Donte go, as stood aside, not sure what to do now.

Then, after opening and closing her mouth a few times, Max said, "You're…my Angel's son?"

**End of chapter. **

**I'm not sure I liked it, though that could be because I had something different planned in my head, but because this is how it played out, I'm just happy it-s **_**out**_** of my head and on paper. I honestly think the chapter in general could have been better thought out, but whatever.**

**I hope you liked, and if you didn't follow any of the back-story about Donte's mom, I'd be happy to elaborate. **

**Thanks For Reading! R&R**

**-Aly**


	20. C19: Do Or Die

**Future History**

Chapter 20: Do or Die

**Donte's POV**

"Answer me! Are you or are you not Angel's son?!" Max demanded, grabbing me by the shoulders and actually shaking me.

"Max." Fang stepped in, trying to grab his wife, but she shook him off.

This whole time, I couldn't say anything. All I could do was watch her in pity, wondering if what I'm going to tell her will hurt more than losing a daughter. Max was an amazing person – kind, tough, gentle, and mean. All contradictory, and yet all true. What will the news of my mother's death do to her? And will she be okay with me once she knows the truth?

I sighed, ignoring the pressure she was putting on my shoulders. "Yes, I'm Angel's son. Yes, Angel is – _was_ – my mother. It's been years since we barrier her in Death Valley." I know it was cruel to announce it like that, but my frustration and this uncomfortable feeling talking about my mother was growing. Max's hands went slack and fell to her sides, her face twisted in a mix of terror, disappointment, and pure sadness. "My mother died when I was three. Andy and Diana have been my only family since then."

Fang tried again to take his wife away. This time she let him. Every one of the Flock's faces were the same – sadness, despair, grief, guilt, sorrow, longing. Gazzy, however, looked broken, hollow even. This was, after all, his sister we were talking about. I'm sure if I found out Andy was dead, I'd feel the same way.

"Was…was she happy…?" Nudge asked, having been crying into Iggy's shirt and tore herself away if only to ask.

Andy stood next to me, ready to back me up if she needed to. Angel had known Andy's mother since before I was born, so they were close for a few years. As Andy and I grew up, she was always the one to comfort me when I cried, especially after my mother's death.

"As far as I knew, Angel was content with who she was and where she was. But with life… Now that's a different story. No one knows the answer to that question."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Gazzy asked, wiping his tears away, though only one of two had fallen. "My sister was always so happy to live. She fought for her life since I can remember. She wouldn't just give up like that, not Angel."

I looked at him with pity. Malec and Vanessa stood up, looking rather defensive. Was this going to get ugly?

"Gaz, relax," Iggy said calmly, holding Nudge close and patting her back.

But Gazzy wasn't listening. "Who are you to accuse my sister of something like that? She was so lively and happy when we were kids, so caring despite the things she did. She only thought of others! What could have possibly happened to make you even think that my sister wasn't happy?!"

Calmly, and without raising my voice, I said, "Angel was raped when she was 12-years-old, putting her at 13-years-old when I was born. It took her a whole 6 months before she would so much as hold me after I was born, having gone to a rehab center to recover from the trauma." No one said anything – even Gazzy closed his mouth and didn't dare open it. "Diana took care of me, even while dealing with her own pregnancy. Remember that Andy and I are only a few months apart, so she had a lot on her plate. Angel kept her distance from me even after taking refuge in Diana's home. She couldn't even bare to look at me, because I reminded her of what my supposed _father_ did to her, and how much she hated him for it. As a result, she turned that hatred on me."

"Angel...," Max said, finally finding her voice. "Angel wouldn't…do something like that." She had wiped her tears long ago, and there was still heartbreak in her eyes. "She couldn't hate someone like that; this seems a little…extreme for her."

I turned to her, my expression still blank. "That I will have to agree with. Angel wasn't one to hold a grudge. For my second birthday, she took it upon herself to attend dinner with us. She sat next to me, but still wouldn't look at me. Every day after that, I thought I was making progress the more I got to see her face and memorize her tell-tale angelic features. Then, one day, it was like she was a completely different person. She came down from her room one morning…"

**Flashback**

"_Donte, can you please set the table?" Diana asked, handing little Donte a stack of paper plates to put on the table. She had a lot of hungry mouths to feed, so the stack of seven plates would quickly diminish and become four._

"_Sure," he said, taking the stack and setting the plates in a row so that each member of their extended family could take their plate to their rooms, just like every morning. _

_Andy was sitting at the table, playing with a doll Donte had found her. "I want to help, Mama!" she whined, forgetting about her doll and getting up from the table. She jumped up and down at her mother's feet, asking for something to take to the table. "Please, Mama! I want to help Don set the table!"_

_Diana chuckled. "Alright, just a moment Andréa." She soon handed her daughter a stack of plastic forks to carry to the table, just as Donte was don't with the plates. "Be careful, Andy. Don't run with them."_

_She nodded excited and took careful, concentrated steps toward the table._

"_Andy, I said don't call me Don," Donte scolded, setting the last plate in place. "It's not 'Don', its Donte. D-o-n-t-e."_

_Diana turned her back to finish breakfast, chuckling again as she listed to the young one bicker back at forth._

_Once the table was set and the scrambled eggs and bacon was ready, Diana scooped two helpings onto each plate, and then five slices of bacon. Once each plate was gone and taken away, she would go back and make enough for herself, Angel, Donte, and Andy. Every day Diana would go to Angel's bedroom door, knock to see if she was awake and ask if she wanted breakfast. On the days Angel wasn't awake or simply wasn't answering, she would just leave the food by the door and hope that the plate was empty when she came back later._

_When Andy and Donte were settled at the table, Diana turned with Angel's plate to ascend the stair, only to bump into someone._

"_Oh! Sorry, I didn't see you…" Diana trailed off when she looked up to see Angel out of her room three hours earlier than she usually was. "A…Angel! What are you doing up so early?"_

_At the sound of Angel's name, Donte and Andy turned in their seats, eyes wide to see the angel from upstairs in their presence._

_Then, Angel did something Diana and the kids hadn't seen her do yet, not since Diana has known Angel: she smiled. "No, it's my fault. I was trying to sneak down and surprise you all!"_

_Surprised they were. Angel never came down earlier than 12:00, especially on a weekend. Donte wasn't sure what to make of his mother's appearance down stairs. He was happy she was there, but confused all at the same time. He was never allowed up in her room, so the only time he would see her was on the off chance that she came down to visit, though the chances of that were slim. _

"_Oh… And what kind of surprise would that be?" Diana asked, offering Angel her plate._

_Angel declined. "Well, I was thinking we could go out for lunch today, and maybe do some shopping, too?"_

_Diana was skeptical. "Uh…Angel. As nice as that would be, we are kind of tight on money. Maybe next weekend when I can get a hold of more cash?"_

_Angel sighed. "Well, alright. But I would still like to go out, even if we don't get to go shopping or eat lunch. Is that okay?"_

_Diana smiled lightly and nodded. "Yes, that's fine." She looked back at the kids, who couldn't seem to take their eyes off Angel. "I'm sure we could use a good amount of fresh air. That would be nice, Angel, thank you."_

_Angel smiled and disappeared again, promising to be back down soon._

_Diana set Angel's forgotten plate of food on the table and sat down. She took a deep breath and let it out, like seeing Angel so…happy had knocked the wind out of her. Angel had never smiled like that, not since giving birth to Donte. And even before that, her smile never quite reached her ears. This was indeed very puzzling. _

_The three of them were silent for a moment, before Donte spoke up._

"_Is my mommy…sick?" he asked, no looking up from his half empty plate._

_Diana sighed and rubbed his back reassuringly. "No, honey, she's just…feeling good today is all."_

_Donte nodded, going back to his food_

_A few hours after breakfast was cleaned up and the kids got a bath, Diana got them ready to go on their trip into town._

"_Now remember, kids, you have to keep your wings hidden at all times. No exceptions," Diana lectured as she zipped up Andy's jacket and helped her with her shoes._

"_But... but fly away when you say, right Mommy?" Andy asked, as Diana helped her slip on her other shoe._

_Diana nodded. "That's right, but don't go home."_

"_Go to the sewers, where Cami lives, right?"_

_Diana nodded again. "Yes, precisely."_

_Cami was short for Chameleon, who was a mutant that was part lizard, part human. She was a friend of Diana's and had a safe place in the sewers where they could lay low if they needed to. Though Cami's temper spiked from time to time, and over the simplest things, she had a soft spot for children._

_Angel came back down, dressed in a nice, white fall coat and a long, pale pink skirt that had ruffles at the end. It was something so simple, but on Angel, it looked like she was dressed for a ball. Her now long platinum blonde hair flung left and right as she bounded down the stairs with an almost unusual hop in her step – unusual for her, anyway._

_Once they were ready to go, Diana left a note for one of the other creatures in case they came back down and she wasn't there. There was only one mutant, Sim, that could read, but she'd leave it anyway. (Jox and Hoax, they are twins, could only read their own news.) It read:_

'_I'm taking the kids and Angel out for a walk to get some fresh air. If you need anything, I left juice and sandwiches in the fridge. Try to keep quiet until we return._

_In the unlikely event that we don't return, you know what to do: leave the house immediately. Take as much food as you can, lock up the house and leave out a window. Keep yourselves safe. One of us will meet you at the rendezvous point._

_Be safe. Stay out of trouble. Sim, make sure the brothers don't leave a trail of destruction behind… Thank you._

_Love, D.'_

_With the note left on the counter where it could be seen, they were off._

_Once they made it safely down to the city, they kept to themselves and just walked aimlessly through the streets until they found a restaurant they liked: McDonalds – if only for the kids. Donte and Andy ate what they could before the play place was too distracting and they had to run off. Diana and Angel at their food quietly, getting odd looks from the other mothers. At this point, Avian American's were seen as outcasts, and only few knew about them. Angel and Diana weren't quite as 'popular' as Maximum Ride and Fang and the others, but their names and identities were still thrown around. _

"_Diana," Angel said after a few minutes, pulling Diana from her thoughts. When the older Avian looked up, Angel wasn't looking at her, but Donte. She was watching him laugh and play with Andy as they chased each other around the play place. "How…how is he?" she asked quietly, clearly unsure of how to ask._

_Diana turned her eyes back on her food, putting a french fry in her mouth and swallowing before answering. "He's…copping. He still doesn't quite understand why he can't see his mother…but he listens to reason. He's actually very smart." She saw a ghost of a smile play at Angel's lips, but she said nothing. Diana continued: "He is learning to read and write, along with Andy who fights to compete with him. I've decided to wait to put them through school – maybe starting at the 6__th__ Grade level. That way I know they could hold their own if they needed to. I will teach them as much as I know and push them for their best."_

_Diana paused, feeling Angel's eyes on her. She knew that's not what Angel wanted to know. Diana sighed. "He misses you, Angel. He loves you with what little knowledge he has of you – whether that be your hair color, your eyes, your clothes… What little information he has of you is what he loves, if only because he knows that you hide from him, and he feels that he's done something wrong."_

_Angel frowned. "I don't…hide from him."_

_Diana looked up, straight into Angel's still bright blue eyes. "He can't know that if you aren't around, Ang. He doesn't know anything about his…father…let alone why he doesn't know him."_

_Angel cringed. "His…" Then she straightened up. "That man will never be his father. I took him into my heart because I felt bad for him, as I've pitied the rest of my family when they struggled. He…He will never know that he has a son, do you understand?" Despite the fact that Angel was still younger than Diana, the older Avian still felt…threatened by her hard stare._

_Diana nodded. "Yes."_

_Angel realized who cruel she was being to the woman that had taken care of her only son for so long, and immediately felt bad. She sighed. "I'm sorry I put you through all of his, Diana. I didn't… I couldn't find peace with myself after leaving Donte in your care, because I knew he understand why I wasn't around. He may thing that I hate him, but he doesn't know the pain of love just yet. But when he does, he will learn why it was hard to love him like you love your daughter."_

_Diana couldn't form words. What was Angel saying, that she could never love her son? Or was she admitting that her hate for Donte's late father was reflected on Donte himself? She wasn't too sure about Angel anymore, especially with her sudden mood change. What was going through her head?_

_As they left McDonalds, the kids bragged about who's toy was better, skipping on ahead but not out of sight. As they walked along the semi-busy sidewalk, Diana kept her eyes and ears open, knowing that Angel was still…paralyzed and the kids were too distracted by the colors and many different stores they passed. _

_Out of all of the stores they passed, Donte stopped abruptly and stared into…the Baby gap store. Puzzled, Diana ushered Angel ahead to catch up with them. Andy stopped too, but only to ask Donte why he stopped. When Diana got closer, her breath caught a little, and Angel could only stare blankly at her son: Donte was staring right at a shirt in the class window, one that could very possibly fit him, that said 'Mommy's Little Man'._

_Diana didn't know what to say or do. Donte would always ask her why his mother never showed she loved him, but she wouldn't have a clear answer for him. Watching as his hand pressed up against the glass, Diana was about to step in and pull him away to move the kids along. But Angel got there first. Diana could only stand there with Andy and watch the two of them, hoping for something to spark._

_Angel bent down right next to her son, looking in the window, too. Donte acknowledged his mother's presence, but didn't know how to feel about it. This was the closest his mother has ever been to him. He could feel her warmed that radiated from her body, the slight scent of perfume that she never wore until today coming off of her as well. _

_Finally, Angel spoke. "Do you want that shirt, Donte?"_

_Donte turned to look at his mother, just as she turned to look at him. She smiled a little, the question still in her eyes, but there was something else there. What was it? Being so young, he didn't know how to read expressions as well as Diana or Sim and the twins could, but he didn't think it was love. It was…something else._

_He looked back at the shirt, stared at it for a moment, and then dropped his hand, leaving a small fogged hand print there. "No. It's okay. I'm sure Diana needs the money for other stuff."_

_And with that, he dismissed his mother, turned to keep walking ahead. Andy wiggled out of her mother's arm, calling after Donte to wait up._

_That left Angel and Diana alone. _

_Angel stayed where she was, watching her son walk away, not sure if she wanted him to look back or not. Of all of the things that hurt her – being shock in the tests White Coats put her through, the punches Erasers delivered relentlessly, the pain giving birth brought – none of it compared to now. Rejected by her only son._

"_Angel-" Diana started to say, but was stopped short._

"_For someone so young," Angel said, cutting Diana off, "he has such…confused thoughts; such a lost soul for a little boy, and I know who is to blame…" She stood, not turning to Diana. "We should go. Traffic is picking up."_

_Diana glanced around. Traffic wasn't as busy as it usually was. How did Angel know when the streets were busy if she's never left the house? What is going through her head right now?_

_Diana followed after her, just catching up to her when she realized the kids weren't anywhere in sight. _

"_Andy? Donte?" she called, turning a quick 360 before noticing a flash a blonde. The kids were heading right for a cross walk. The light to cross had just turned red, making it no longer safe to cross. Neither of them were paying attention to notice that it wasn't safe to walk across. "Andy! Donte! Stop!" She made a move to sprint on ahead, but Angel stopped her._

_Angel looked at Diana with a calm face, expression completely absent. "Thank you for taking care of him, Diana. And for taking good care of me while I was…unable to hold myself up. But… It's my turn to give him a chance at life." She suddenly brought her bright white wings out from behind her coat, stretching them out behind her. "Even if it kills me." With that, she shot ahead, leaving Diana in the wake of her speed – she'd never seen Angel move so fast._

_Angel heard Diana call after her, but she was already gone. Using what strength she had left in her wings, she weaved past the very little amount of people on the streets, straight at the kids just as they were about to step out into the road. Angel made it in time and grabbed them both from behind, spinning them around and out of harm's way._

_Started, Andy and Donte wobbled for their footing, before realizing what just happened. _

"_Angel!"_

"_Mommy…?"_

_Standing before them with her wings spread wide, like they were walls keeping them from traffic, Angel looked like…an angel. Their Guardian Angel. Their protector. Everything that Donte wanted from his mother was showing through in her in that brief moment. The protective mother he could only dream of having was standing right in front of him, but he knew even then that it would never last._

_Angel smiled. Hearing her son call her 'Mommy' warmed her chilly heart. All the years that she neglected his existence haunted her, for he showed her kindness even then. She bent down next his ear and whispered something only he could hear, then gave him a lingered kiss on his cheek. When she stood again, Diana was close enough to stop her if she wanted to, but Angel couldn't let that happen. She mouthed 'Thank You' to Diana, smiling as bright as she could._

"_Angel, don't!" Diana called, realizing what her winged companion had in mind. "Angel!"_

…_But she was too late._

_Diana reached the kids in time to grab Donte, stopping him from going in after his mother. _

_Cars screeched, honks of panic and annoyance, and loud crashes rang throughout ever direction. _

_His scream for his mother will forever ring in Diana's ears…_

**End Flashback**

"And just like that…she was gone before our eyes." I finished the story with everyone in the room hanging on my every word. The horrors of my mother's…'accident' haunted me whenever I closed my eyes. All that blood…

Andy let a whimpered cry escape her, but that didn't surprise me. She always cried when reminded of the story. Malec gently rubbed her back as comfort.

Horror struck everyone's face, tears were freefalling down their cheeks, and sniffles were the only sound that could be heard. It was…sad and depressing in their small room. Suffocating. Torturous.

"For the life of me," Donte started again, comforting Vanessa putting a hand on her shoulder, "I can't remember what she said to me. It was my mother's last wish, her last words that were meant only for me, and I can't remember what they were."

Of all people, Fang took that one step needed to stand right in front of me, whether it be to punch me in the face or…whatever! I never expected him to be the lovey-dovey type. He put a hand on my shoulder, eyes dark and thoughtful when he said, "Maybe one day they will come to you. Life comes with no guarantees, but miracles are always possible."

I didn't know how to respond to that, it wasn't just the fact that Fang was giving words of advice, but because he was trying to comfort him at all. Fang, max, and the others never grew up with real parents. From a young age they lived as a torture and experimental facility. No one held them when they cried, or cleaned up their injuries when they scraped their knees. Why would he be comforting a guy who had all of that with Diana?

Max decided that she had cried enough. She wiped her face and stepped up with Fang. "We need a plan. If we're getting Felicity out of this hell whole, we need a way out."

"And an exit point," Gazzy said, having held back his tears. For now.

"Gazzy and I can cover that," Iggy announced. "I got two more bombs in my pack, but it will be trick planting them."

"A-And cover…to get through the halls undetected," Nudge pitched in, still clinging to Iggy.

"What about a battle plan in case we do run into trouble?" Malec asked, speaking up for the first time in a while. "Not that it was unexpected that we'd run into a fight."

Vanessa sniffled, and then spoke with a strong voice, "If we're gunna do this, we need motivation. I don't think I can fight on just 'maybe's and what shred of hope we have felt."

"No," Andy said, the power and determination in her voice surprising me. "We have to have a reason for doing this; we can't go in blind. We need to get back at them for what they've done to Felicity. And, I'm not sure if Angel's death is connected to Itex, but let's blame it on them anyway." I smiled at that. Sounded like a hell of an idea to me. "If – no, _when_ – we get out there, I want to ask everyone something: What do you fight for?"

That question seemed to grab their attention. It was a rather good question too, one that could have so many different answers. But, there was one in particular that came to mind, and judging by the look on everyone's face as they looked back and forth at each other, I knew that they were thinking the same thing.

Max stuck her arm around Fang, leaning her head on his shoulder as she did so. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I've been fight for one thing for as long as I can remember, even before my kids were born. We fight for family." I realized that she was sticking her fist out, waiting for the rest of her Flock to join in.

"Family," Iggy and Nudge said at the same time, her guiding his fist toward Max's.

Gazzy stood taller, stacking his fist on the others. "Family, definitely."

Malec and Vanessa did the same, completing their circle. That left Andy and I to stand alone.

Max looked over at us. "Come on, you two! My arm is going to fall off. Just stack your fist on our, will ya?"

I looked up at Max, wide eyed. "…You're serious?"

She smiled, and so did Nudge, Iggy and Gazzy. "If you've been through hell, made it out alive and barely in one piece with your heart ripped out, then you belong in this family."

"That's…gore-ish, but true," Iggy said, making a face. He put his arm around his daughter's shoulders. How he knew it was her standing there was beyond my understanding. "Family isn't made by meeting people, it's made by finding other freaks and learning to accept their troubles as yours."

"What Iggy and Max are _trying_ to say," Nudge cut in, rolling her eyes at them, "is that you are part of this family whether you like it or not."

I looked down at Andy, who looked up at me. She had a mother, and family with the mentioned 'freaks' her mother graciously adopted under her wing – no pun intended. I've wanted a place to belong for a while now. But what if Andy doesn't accept? What if she decides that she doesn't want to be a part of Malec and Felicity's family? What would I do without her?

I motioned for her to go first, hoping she'd agree. "Sister's first?" I offered, smiling lightly.

A smile immediately lit her face. Then she looked at Max and Fang, nodding. "It would be an honor."

And with that, we all have our arms circled in the center, our fist coming together like we were preparing for battle. In a way, we were. This would be a big fight, and I don't know what the outcome would be, but with my new family, anything is possible.

**God! It took me forever to find a good ending to this chapter! Ugh… But I think it turned out alright. Not the best, but it's better than no update. Right?**

**The next one will reveal all of the secrets the kids have been hiding, as well as the last conversation Max had with Angel. It will explain so much and why a few questions were left unanswered, including but not limited to: Is Felicity really dead?**

**Find out in the chapter coming up!**

**Don't forget to review and tell me what you all think! **

**Thanks For Reading! R&R**

**-Aly**


	21. C20: Ah Hell

**HI! Sorry for the long wait. A lot of school work and work-work bombarded me at one time, on top of family matters. But you got the next chapter! So that's good!**

**Okay. This chapter is going to be in 3****rd**** person, just because of how many different point-of-views there are. (I guess that's what I get for including so many characters into the story, huh?) I think I've said this before, but a lot of things are going to start to make sense in this chapter and very possibly the next one. You guys know my 'promises' are all over the place, so don't hold me to that. I type as I go… **

**The next couple of chapters are going to be blood and gore, so if you don't like any of that, SUCKS TO BE YOU! Read it anyway. (:**

**The beginning is going to be a little rough; mainly because I couldn't figure out how I wanted to do it, and because I really didn't know…how. It's all very confusing! But I hope you somewhat understand. If not, you know how to reach me. **

**So, if there are no objections… *waits for objections* …Didn't think so. **

**I will now continue the story, Future History:**

Chapter 21: Ah, Hell…

**3****rd**** Person POV**

"Max! On your left!"

Max nearly dodged a blow aimed right at her head, one that would have made her see all kinds of shapes – not just stars.

"Andy, duck!"

Andy sent a swift kick at one Eraser's head before dropping to the floor just as Malec sent a highly charged ball of electricity at another Eraser trying to pull a fast one on her.

"Dad! Two fast, at me!"

Iggy took two quick steps toward his daughter, trusting her acute hearing as she jabbed her staff in the face of the Eraser that was hot on his heels, causing it to fall while cradling it's definitely broken nose.

"Again, behind you!"

Vanessa snapped the staff backward just as her father said, making contact with an Eraser that wasn't fighting them, but Nudge.

"Thanks!"

Nudge went on to her next target, one that was helping three other Erasers gang up on Gazzy and Donte, though they were holding their own with knives and sonic booms.

"This way!"

Fang called out to everyone as he pulled at Eraser off of Max and snapped its arm before helping her to her feet. Malec took a blow to the shoulder that was meant for Andy before shoving her toward their dad. Iggy, Gazzy and Donte gathered Nudge and Vanessa before making a break toward Fang and Max as well. The all ran like hell down the rather small hallway toward an ominous looking door.

"What's on the other side?" Max asked Fang, her breathing labored from fighting and a possibly cracked rib.

"Looks like we're gunna have to find out," he answered back, looking over his shoulder at the swarm of enemies closing in.

Leaving them with no other choice, they all burst through the door, stumbling as they made it to the other side. There wasn't much to it; it looked like another corridor that led to a larger room. They made a run for it, hoping that was a place they could catch their breath. They had been fighting group after group of relentless Erasers – they weren't even sure what floor they were on anymore.

Donte and Malec were the last ones through, so they took up responsibility for keeping the door shut. Malec grabbed the handle and charged the metal with a high voltage, one that would send an Eraser yelping like a dog. While he did that, Donte used his ability to re-enforce the door with titanium rods. He had one rod wedged up against the door, almost like one would do when using a chair to keep a door closed. Two more rods traveled the length of the door at different angles.

"That should hold them," Donte said, pulling Malec away from the door to observe his work.

Malec looked at his friend with question. "'Should'?"

Donte shrugged, and as they were turning to leave, the door jostled and shook at the enemy on the other side tried to get through. As they made it to the other end of the corridor, Donte turned to make sure that it was going to hold. Otherwise, he would have to think of another way to keep them at bay.

No one moved. Everything was quiet, because no one could believe what they were seeing.

"I'm only guessing here, but don't think we've got a lot of time," Donte said, still watching the door shake – the Erasers were throwing themselves at it to get it open. When no one said anything, we turned to Malec, who looked frozen where he stood. The others seemed to be acting the same way. "Um, hello. Did you hear what I said?" He stepped closer to them, trying to see what they were staring at. "We can't stay here, he have to…move…"

His sentence broke off when what they were staring at came into view.

And his heart broke all over again.

"This…isn't happening," Max breathed as she stood completely still, not sure how she felt at that point.

Nudge nodded, for once at a complete loss of words. She tried to imagine her son and Jack, safe and sound with Dr. M – anything to make this not be true.

Gazzy had already filled Iggy and Vanessa in on what was happening. Vanessa had already known before he told her; she wasn't sure how, but anyone could have guessed this would happen.

Fang… Well, he wasn't sure what was holding him back. If this was real, and he half wished that it was, than he should have closed in long before the others could so much as see what this was.

Donte felt as Malec did: frozen. But the one word that fell from his lips seemed to unfreeze them all.

"Felicity?"

Malec was the next to unfreeze. "Y-Yeah. That's her. But…her eyes, there-"

"Blood red," Max finished, taking a step toward her.

This girl, this possible imitation of Felicity, just stood there. She had her arms behind her back, like she was standing at ready. Ready for…something. She was dressed in a black t-shirt and a pair of black cargo pants. Her hair was pulled back into a tight pony-tail, making her look battle ready. Her eyes were red – not like a blood-shot red, but the color that was normally a calm brown, was now a dark, blood red.

"I know this probably isn't the best time to say this," Nudge cut into their silence and shock, "but with the amount of black she's wearing, she looks for like her father than she ever did."

That comment made Fang fidget slightly. "And from what we've recently learned, she's probably just as skilled as Max and I."

"Not that you're trying to dis-include the rest of us," The Gasman said, not bothering to flash Fang a cold look; it wasn't needed at the moment.

"Easy, Gazzy," Iggy said, seeming surprisingly calm. "How do you think you would feel if your daughter had telepathic potential that could kill you faster than you could say her name? Let alone that sentence…" He shrugged in that lazily way that he did. "If we're going to do this, we need to do it without getting on her bad side."

"This was obviously planned," Nudge observed. "She wouldn't have been here waiting for us if it wasn't."

"Yeah," Gazzy agreed, glancing around the empty room. "This space looks like it could hold two football fields. This is obviously a trap."

Max nodded. "But doing what Iggy said will be easier said than done. If they are controlling her, and I'm almost sure that they are, she will be stronger and faster than we can react."

Fang glanced at his wife, and long term best friend. "Should we take a simple approach?"

"She might be armed."

"Hold on a second!"

Everyone turned to look at Donte, surprised at his outburst. Everyone but Fang. He was going to keep an eye on her. If she so much as twitched the wrong way, he was going to be ready.

Donte couldn't believe what he was hearing – they wanted to attack her! They wanted to hurt Felicity. It was too outrageous. He couldn't… He could never hurt her. He cared about her too much to even let that happen.

"You can't seriously be considering this?" he asked, looking at them all with fury in his eyes. Max wasn't sure if that anger was because of what they were planning, or anger toward himself.

"Yeah," Vanessa added. "We don't know if that's Felicity of not."

Malec nodded, agreeing with his friends. "We should see if that's her or not. We can't just attack her on whim – this is my sister, and I'm not moving unless I know I won't hurt her."

"Maybe we can get her to talk," Andy suggested, standing with her friends. "Last night, she…she came to me in my dreams."

Nudge raised her brows, surprised. "Is…is that another power of yours?"

Andy nodded. "I'm what you'd call a 'dream walker'. I can through people's dreams, so long as I know the person and am in range."

The Gasman shuddered, unable to keep it from traveling up his spine.

"Talk about creepy…" Iggy muttered under his breath.

Malec cut in, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Was it…_this_ Felicity?" he asked, motioning toward the girl that stood unmoving before them.

Andy looked from her best friend to Malec again. That girl was smiling Felicity's smile, but there was an evil-ness about it that made her want to throw up. "I can't know for sure. Maybe Felicity's consciousness is only locked away, like she was pushed aside by…that." She motioned to the girl with a wave of her hand. "There were two weird things about that dream."

"And I'm going to guess that one of those things isn't the fact that you walk around in people's heads?" Iggy asked, being completely serious, but he was of course, ignored.

"One: she was the one that called me to that dream, rather than the other way around. Two: it was like something was pulling her away before she could finish talking."

"What did she say?" Vanessa asked, keeping her ears on high alert for anything suspicious; if anyone could detect it first, it was her.

Andy thought for a moment, leaving everyone in suspense. Memories of the dream flashed in Andy's vision:

'_I think it was something to do with that surgery."_

She remembered the look of panic and fear in Felicity's kind eyes as she tried desperately to get her message out before she faded away.

'_They did something…like the control collar…stay away…'_

Andy spoke again: "She said that…she had this weird feeling, like something was controlling her."

"Do you think they slipped another collar on, and that woke her up?" Max asked. When she glanced at this girl before her, she wasn't wearing a collar.

Andy shook her head. "No. As she disappeared from the dream and just before I woke up, she said they did something to her, and that it had something to do with the surgery." Max cringed at the memory of seeing them cut open her daughter. "But," Andy continued, "she said it was _like_ a control collar, not that it _was_ one."

Fang nodded. "I think I get it."

Everyone looked toward him, waiting for him to explain.

Fang continued, never taking his dark eyes off of this supposed imposter of his daughter. "The surgery was specifically meant for Felicity because she was still pretty young – as young as Max and I were when they tried to start experimenting on us again."

Max nodded, understand where he was going with this. "That's right. We were around Felicity's age when they decided that we were beyond help to them."

"But why not take me when I was that age?" Malec asked.

This father answered that question for him. "Because the only way for them to continue their work was to sit back and wait – to wait for there to be someone better." Max and Fang were on a roll; it was all starting to make sense to them now.

"Someone with an ability that far exceeds that of the normal human brain."

"Someone with a telekinetic ability."

"Someone…like me."

That was the first time the girl spoke since they entered to room. No one really moved, but they did tense up, ready to defend themselves if they have to. The Felicity imposter looked smug having answered their question for them.

"Did I mention what in the dream…" Andy took up a defensive stance, her friends following suite despite not wanting to fight their lost friend. "She said not to trust her, and to stay away if we could."

Iggy swept a glance in her direction, feeling his muscles tense slightly. "No, you, uh…may have left that art out."

Before anyone could say anything else, a floor panel behind Felicity 2.0 opened up, and a mechanical noise that resembled that of an elevator sounded throughout the echo-y room. Before their eyes, a woman with fiery red hair that was curled perfectly and green eyes appeared before them. She had an evil smile on her face, and she was…happy to see them all here.

This woman was about Fang, Max, and Iggy's age. She was wearing a rather revealing black dress that ended at the top of her knees. Her lips were painted pink and she had make-up on that seemed like too much for even Nudge's taste. She had a wicked look on her face, like she would do anything to get her way, even though it seems as though that already happened. Whoever this woman was, she seemed to have power, money, and a temper a red as her hair.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the infamous Maximum Ride," the lady sneered, faking a sweet smile. "It's been a long time since we last saw each other." Did you miss me?"

Fang looked at his wife in question. "Do you know her?"

Max squinted, trying to figure out where she'd seen that hair before. The others waited in anticipation for Max to say something. Max thought hard, but when she did realize who this woman was, she wished she had never met her.

"No…" Max breathed, her eyes growing wide.

"What?" Nudge asked. "Do you know her from work or something?"

Max snorted. "I wish. No, she from way back when we were still kids."

The woman laughed manically. "Why so mean, Maxine? Is that how you say hello to an old friend?" She looped her arm over Felicity's shoulders, playing with a lock of hair from the girl's pony-tail.

Fang tensed, getting ready to jump at the woman, weather she knew Max of now. "Max, who is this witch?"

"Why do you want to know, Fangy-poo?" The woman cooed. "Want to bring up the past all over again?" She made a kissy face in his direction, winking seductively.

Fang frowned further, and then realization slowly dawned on him. "Ah, hell…"

"Fang," Iggy cut in, "I think I recognize her voice. There was only one girl with that voice that called you that back in the day."

Fang nodded, confirming Iggy's accusations without the blind man even knowing.

"Can you clue the rest of us in?" Gazzy exclaimed.

"Guys…" Max said, finally going to reveal her identity. "It's the one girl I hated the most when we went to school while living with Anne."

Nudge's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Y-you mean…?"

Max nodded slowly, putting her hands on her hips to make her seem tougher. "Yup. This evil piece of trash…is Lisa."

**End of chapter!**

**Sorry I had to end it in a weird place, but the next chapter should be longer, and have a little more action.**

**So, Lisa was behind this all along. More will be revealed in the next chapter, and we will soon see why and how she's got Felicity on her side. But I hope you guys will consider reading on!**

**Thanks For Reviewing! R&R**

**-Aly**


	22. C22: The Beginning and The End

**SO SORRY ABOUT THE WAIT!**

**So, I know you guys are tired of my excuses – so am I – but this one is true: I lost my flash drive temporarily. Again. Obviously, I found it. But, I can't make up for the time I lost because all of the chapters that I half started were only saved to the flash drive, so trying to pick up where I left off without the drive was…difficult. BUT! I'm here now, and I'm going to try wrapping this up as quickly as possible. **

**IMPORTANT!: And if no one has noticed but me, my chapter count is a little off. Because I have a 'Prolouge' chapter in the very beginning, my chapter count should be at 21 with the last chapter. Somehow, it evened itself out and it remains at 20. I'm not sure if you guys understand what I mean, but I can't figure out what went wrong. In a few days I'm going to delete the prologue – temporarily – and see if I can straighten things out. But if any of you have an idea of where I messed up, let me know! Thanks!**

**Anyway, let's get back to what you guys really came for.**

**Here we go:**

**Future History:**

Chapter 22: The Beginning And The End

**3****rd**** Person POV:**

Lisa let an almost inhuman, not-so-humorous laugh ring throughout the large, domed room. "Well, I will give you points there. You figured it out faster than I thought. Congratulations." Her face turned wicked again. "Now you will take that knowledge to your graves."

She snapped her perfectly manicured fingers. And almost immediately, a swarm of Erasers poured out from doors that were originally unseen up till now. The first door opened, releasing about two dozen furry beasts. Then the next held the same amount. There were ten doors in total, making their odds of escape – let alone survival – dwindle to the single digits.

Readying themselves, the mutant group waited tensely as the Erasers formed a circle around them. Every beast was snapping, growling, and howling at them, waiting for the command to rip up some feathers. Fang, and the rest of the Original Flock pushed the kids in a circle behind them. If all else failed, they needed to be protected no matter what; the Next Generation needed to be safe.

"Wait!" Malec protested as his father pushed him back with his friends. "We can help you."

"No," his father said sternly, leaving almost no room for argument. Almost.

Malec ground his teeth, keeping his one eye on Felicity, His little sister, and the other on the circle of enemies around them. "Just listen. We can help you. You won't have to go out there empty handed if it comes down to it. Donte can…hook you up."

Fang chanced a glance at his son. "How?"

Malec turned to Donte and nodded. Donte, focusing on his ability, materialized weapons that would help the Flock, ones that were something special.

Nudge gasped when the object appeared in front of her, one that she never saw herself using. Thankfully though, she's used one before. Gazzy looked almost excited when his weapons appeared in front of him. Iggy, confused until Gazzy explained what exactly was a foot in front of him, let a scary smile that always creeped Max out slip on his face. Fang said and did nothing, but understood Donte choice in weapons for him. Max was still freaked that this kid could make anything appear at his will, but was thankful for the help.

Once it was said and done, and each of them took the weapons before them, Donte spoke up again, "The weapons I chose of each of you, is a weapon we have specialized in. The Gasman, you have my weapon. There are plenty of knives in the belt I materialized for you, and I would recommend holding in to the biggest one as a last resort."

"Cool," Gazzy breathed, fastening the belt around his waist and taking out said biggest knife, which was about a foot and a half long.

Donte turned to the next mutant. "Iggy, naturally, you have your daughter's weapon. The bow staff has a dagger at one end, and a spiked ball at the other. Despite the metal objects at each end, it is very light weight, and should be easy for you to use."

Vanessa tapped her foot against her father's, smiling to herself. "It's one of my favorites." Iggy smiled as well, tapping her foot back.

Donte then turned to the next person by Iggy. "Max, you have Andy's bow. The quiver on your back holds 15 metal arrows that can be reused if you can get ahold of it again. And the bow itself is metal, so it was be used to defend yourself at close range."

Max nodded. "Got it." She glanced at Andy, who smiled approvingly, agreeing that there wasn't a better match for her bow and arrows.

Donte went to the next person. "Fang, you have Malec swords. They are light weight and indestructible. Normally, Malec's electrical charge is sent through the swords, but I'm sure a guy who plays with fire, much like yourself, could find another use for them." Donte smirked a little to himself.

Fang glanced behind him at Donte, nodding. "Not a bad idea." Max could have sworn she saw her husband smile, but it could have just been her eyes.

And finally, Donte turned to the last person. "Nudge, your weapon…is something extra special. It's an automatic gun, which means you don't have to keep cocking it back to reload it. I also materialized two full clips along with it." He took a deep breath. "You have Felicity's choice weapon."

Everyone tensed at the mention of Felicity's name, but Nudge just nodded. "In which case, I should avoid using it one her, because it would be useless anyway. I know I'm not as good as her."

Donte tried to sound encouraging. "In any case, the bullets are made of metal as well. I'm sure you could use your power and…make them move in ways Felicity would never be able to pull off."

Nudge seemed to suddenly snap out of her gloom, smiling brightly. "That's a great idea! I can do that, no problem."

Donte nodded, satisfied that everyone was ready for whatever was to come.

Then, Max thought of something. "I know that we won't be able to hold up this circle very long. You kids better be able to defend yourselves." _Because if something happened to any of you, God knows what would happen to my heart,_ Max thought, not able to say the words aloud. "So, be ready."

Malec _tsk_ed. "What, you think we'd go out there empty handed? Please, Mom, we're not that stupid."

There was a _whoosh_ sound. "And there's no way we are sitting this one out," Vanessa's voice rang out.

"V's right," Andy spoke up next. "Not when we know that Felicity is alive, not when there's hope that she hasn't given up on us either."

A click sounded from behind her. "Besides, this is our fight just as much as it's yours. We have to power to protect, too, and we're not going to let anything happen to _you_."

Max, as well as the others, turned around in their circle formation. What they saw was Donte and his friends holding their own weapons with proud smiles on each of their faces spread wide, ready to take to the air. The only thing that was different was Donte holding two weapons: one of his knives in his right hand, and a gun in the other.

Max, for whatever reason, was proud to see the kids battle ready, even though her and Fang never wanted his kind of life for them they tried to protect them from Itex, from the world. But seeing them ready to go like they were, Max realized that she couldn't protect them forever. She was going to have to let them go out on their own, even though letting them fight a real battle so soon hurt to even think about. But…there was no other way.

Max nodded, a twitch of a smile on her face.

"How touching. You all have your own little toys. It's actually pretty amusing." Lisa's not-so-pleasant voice broke though the rare of the crowd and the sound of their pounding hearts. "It's amusing that you think those weapons will get you out here alive. If the Eraser's don't kill you…" A sick smile slithered on her face, making Max's skin crawl. "Then Felicity will."

Max glared as hard as she could the woman, hoping she would just explode into a million pieces. How dare she say something like that about Felicity. Her daughter would never do something like that, not in any life time.

Right?

Frustration filled Max and clouded her common sense, her muscles coiling tight. The only thing she could think about was Felicity, and how much she wanted her back in her arms. Her control over the beast inside her started to slip, due to having been using her power a few too many times tonight, as well as this bitch's provoking. Then, what happened next pushed Max over the edge.

Felicity looked up at the red haired woman, face completely blank…

Wrapped her arms around her waist and actually hugged her…

And said, "That's right, Mother."

Max saw red.

The overwhelming sense of hatred for this woman amplified and consumed her. Every fiber of her body wanted this woman dead. Without much though, Max, reached behind her to grab an arrow, set it up in the bow, and drew it back. She had all intent and purpose to aim for Lisa, wanting nothing more than to spill her blood the way Felicity's blood was spilled.

Fang made a grab for Max. "Max, don't!" But he missed as she stepped out of his reach, charging forward.

Max pulled the arrow back farther, hoping that it wouldn't go straight through her head. Instead, with a lot of force behind it, Max wanted it to make her head split and burst. That's how angry – no _livid_ – she was.

"…_Mother…Mother…Mother…"_

_She had said that,_ Max though. _She called that bitch her mother._ Felicity had never called her that. She always called her Mom, or Mommy when she was younger. To hear Felicity's voice echoing in her head…it pushed Max to do stupid things.

Just as she let the arrow slip from her fingers, something hit the top of her bow and it veered off course, making the arrow hit the ground with an incredible force, rather than her intended target.

Snapping around, Max all but growled at whoever dared interfere. It was Andy. She had stepped forward with her bow raised as well. She used her acute aim and hit Max's bow with one of her own arrows. No one else would have been able to make that shot, but Andy is like no one else when you put a bow in her hand.

Then, Max felt someone standing behind her and she snapped back around, still seeing every shade of red that ever existed. Max was huffing, breathing hard from the sudden adrenaline rush. She was glaring at her husband standing before her, wondering why they had stopped her.

Fang stood tall, unaffected by Max's glare. (Then again, her glares never affected him.) His face was expressionless, but his eyes gave away concern and love, both for his out of control wife. He didn't know what he would do if she lost it, but Max couldn't hurt Felicity, whether his daughter was against them or not.

"Max." Her name rolling off his lips cleared Max's vision ever so slightly. She needed him to say more, to clear this fog in her brain. But the anger-crazed Max that lurked on the other side of the bridge she dared herself to cross wanted him to get out of her way.

"Breath, Max," he said softly. "She's just trying to get under your skin."

"I think that was already accomplished," Iggy announced seriously from where Fang had left the others. Fang ignored him.

Fang stepped closer yet, leaving barely an inch between them. "You can't do this, not if what she said was true. Felicity is under her control, and if we want our daughter back, we have to do this differently."

Max, though still breathing heavy, clamed herself, pushing the rage and temptation to kill aside. She just hoped it would be enough, because if the beast tried getting out of its cage, she wasn't sure she could keep it down again.

Max hadn't made it far from their huddle, but being closer to Felicity made her feel hope that her daughter wasn't evil like Lisa claimed she was.

"God, I just love family reunions," Lisa pitched in, annoying Max that much more. She was no longer next to Felicity. Instead she was retreating to the line of Erasers waiting impatiently for her call to take action. "In fact, I think I will let you enjoy another reunion, one that is overdue for…18 long years."

She stood in front of the Erasers and motioned for them to part. When they did, two figures stepped out into view. One was Thresh, the Eraser that took Felicity, Donte, and Malec away back on their island. Fang narrowed his eyes, glaring hard. He would be the one to deal with Thresh, because he had personal business with him for threatening his daughter. The other figure to step out with him was…

Max's eyes widened as she took in the person before her, standing along-side the Erasers.

"D-Dylan?"

**And…I'm sorry. Don't hurt me!**

**I know it's short, but it had to end here. I'm hoping that the next chapter will be much, much longer. So…hang in there just a little longer. And I think I might go back to what's happening with Chevelle and Emmett. (No, I haven't forgotten about them. Not mentioning them was part of the plan.) But we will see what happens.**

**As soon as this goes up, I will be working on more. No worries. I just wanted to put this up so you didn't think I dropped off the face of the Earth. Lol**

**Anyway…**

**Thanks For Reading! R&R**

**-Aly**


End file.
